Instead of sinking along with the rest of the slumping New York Rangers, Wayne Gretzky lifted his play to an even higher level.
"Wayne was incredible . . . he was really dancing with that puck tonight," linemate Luc Robitaille said after Gretzky's most productive game as a Ranger keyed New York's 6-4 victory over Buffalo on Sunday night.Looking like the dominating player who led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cups in the 1980s, Gretzky had a goal and three assists to extend his league-high scoring streak to 11 games.
But that wasn't all. He also helped kill all six Buffalo power plays as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak.
"It was fun for our line tonight," said Gretzky, who teamed with Niklas Sundstrom and Robitaille. "Our power play was really good. We took advantage of our opportunities."
Gretzky was talking about a power play that clicked on three of four tries. He had a hand in two of them, setting up goals by Brian Leetch in the first period and Sundstrom in the second.
"Wayne turned it up a notch tonight, and when he does that, not too many guys can stop him," said Buffalo coach Ted Nolan, whose Sabres had a four-game winning streak stopped.
Panthers 3, Flyers 2
At Philadelphia, Scott Mellanby scored his 200th career goal as Florida improved to 7-0-3, the Panthers' longest unbeaten streak ever.
Dave Lowry and Bill Lindsay added goals for the Panthers, who have a seven-point lead over the Flyers, Rangers and Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division. John Druce and Daniel Lacroix scored for Philadelphia.
Flames 4, Mighty Ducks 1
At Anaheim, Calif., Dave Gagner scored two goals on deflections, the first snapping a 1-1 tie in the second period, as streaking Calgary sent Anaheim to its seventh straight loss.
Theoren Fleury and Todd Hlushko added goals for the Flames, unbeaten in five games with the only tie a scoreless draw at Los Angeles on Saturday night. Kevin Todd scored for the Ducks.
Sharks 6, Blackhawks 2
At Chicago, Owen Nolan had his ninth career three-goal game, scoring twice in San Jose's five-goal first period.
Darren Turcotte had two goals and Ulf Dahlen also scored as the Sharks completed their longest road trip of the season with a 3-2-1 record. Eric Daze and Alexei Zhamnov scored for Chicago.