If the Patrick Division race gets any closer, the NHL is going to need a shoe horn to pry the teams apart.
The NHL's most compelling division tightened up even more Tuesday night as the New York Rangers beat Los Angeles 4-3, Washington trimmed Toronto 3-1, the New York Islanders turned back Philadelphia 4-2 and Vancouver whipped New Jersey 7-2.Those results left the four teams vying for the remaining three playoff spots just three points apart. Washington is second behind the runaway Pittsburgh Penguins with 73 points, New Jersey is third with 72, the Rangers are fourth with 71 and the Islanders fifth with 70.
"Our playoffs, realistically, are now," Islanders forward Patrick Flatley said. "It's the best of 20 games, and we have to win 15 of them."
Elsewhere, the Penguins beat Boston 3-2, Winnipeg beat Tampa Bay 4-2 and Minnesota whipped Tampa Bay 4-2.
Rangers 4, Kings 3
Mike Gartner's power-play goal with 5:54 remaining capped a two-goal rally for the Rangers.
Gartner scored his 39th from the lower left circle after taking a pass from James Patrick at the right point. Also assisting on the game-winner was Brian Leetch, who was making his first appearance for the Rangers since he suffered nerve damage to his neck and left shoulder in a game against St. Louis on Dec. 17.
Mark Messier and Darren Turcotte also returned from injury to help the Rangers.
"It was a pretty good feeling having everyone back," Messier said. "We got a little unlucky at the start (when the Rangers fell behind 2-0), but we kept our composure and converted our chances to win."
Capitals 3, Maple Leafs 1
Michal Pivonka snapped a 1-1 tie 6:48 into the third period, lifting Washington over Toronto and ending the Capitals' five-game winless streak (0-4-1).
With the teams skating four-on-four, Washington's Peter Bondra stole the puck from Todd Gill behind the Toronto net and fed Pivonka at the left post for his 19th goal of the season.
Dave Andreychuk scored for the Maple Leafs, who failed to pull into a second-place tie with Detroit in the Norris Division. The loss was only the second in Toronto's last 13 games.
"They are a team that is struggling," Toronto coach Pat Burns said of the Capitals. "They had to come up big tonight and they found a way to win."
Islanders 4, Flyers 2
Pierre Turgeon had a goal and two assists as the Islanders beat Philadelphia for their season-high fifth straight victory.
The loss dropped the last-place Flyers 11 points behind the fifth-place Islanders in the Patrick Division.
The Islanders also extended an unbeaten streak at the Nassau Coliseum. They are 7-0-1 against the Flyers at home since a 5-3 loss on Feb. 23, 1991.
Canucks 7, Devils 2
Geoff Courtnall scored twice and the Canucks struck for four goals in the second period to beat the Devils.
Sergio Momesso, Courtnall, Petr Nedved and Jyrki Lumme scored in the middle period as the Canucks extended their lead in the Smythe Division to seven points over the Calgary Flames. Courtnall and Cliff Ronning also scored on the power play after the Canucks went into the game with just two goals in their last 58 power plays.
The Devils got goals from Alexander Semak and Tom Chorske as their five-game unbeaten streak ended. New Jersey has not won in Vancouver since January 1987.
Penguins 3, Bruins 2
Mario Lemieux made an emotional return to Pittsburgh after his two-month fight with cancer and Joe Mullen scored twice, leading the Penguins over the Bruins.
Lemieux, limited to about six minutes of playing time in New York last Friday due to back pain, took regular shifts and also played on the power play as Penguins fans waved black-and-gold "Mario" signs in his first home game since Jan. 5. Lemieux's shooting was off - he missed a nearly-open net three minutes into the game and couldn't convert several other scoring opportunities - but he assisted on the Penguins' first goal.
The Penguins improved to 3-1-0 against Boston - their first season series victory over the Bruins since 1978-79 - despite playing the final two-plus periods without All-Star left wing Kevin Stevens.
"Everybody was excited to see Mario back," Mullen said. "The fans were excited, we were excited and he was excited about playing. You could see it from the start of the game."
Jets 4, Lightning 2
Rookie Teemu Selanne scored three goals - one on his first penalty shot - and reached the 100-point mark as Winnipeg beat Tampa Bay.
Selanne, who last week broke Mike Bossy's 1972 mark of 53 goals, now has 59 goals and 42 assists. He joins Peter Stastny (109 points in 1980-81 for Quebec), Dale Hawerchuk (103 in 1981-82 for Winnipeg) and Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux (100 in 1984-85) as the only rookies in NHL history to score 100 or more points.
The victory snapped Winnipeg's two-game losing streak and ended Tampa Bay's three-game unbeaten streak.
North Stars 4, Sharks 2
Dave Gagner scored twice in a 1:56 span of the second period as Minnesota beat San Jose. Gagner's goals, his 27th and 28th of the season, give him 10 goals and 10 assists in his last 18 games.
Mike Modano reached the 30-goal mark for the second straight season for Minnesota, which has struggled since talk of the team moving to Dallas next season became serious in mid-February.
The North Stars are 3-8-1 in their last 12 games.