Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist, Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves and the surging Rangers beat the host Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, Friday. Brad Richards scored his 15th goal of the season for the Rangers, and Derek Stepan took advantage of a mistake by Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who badly misplayed a clearing attempt in the third period, to notch his ninth goal. The Rangers have won four in a row. The Rangers improved their position atop the Eastern Conference with a strong game by Lundqvist, who made a series of flashy glove saves and dug in when Pittsburgh turned the pressure up late. Ben Lovejoy scored his first goal of the season for Pittsburgh and Fleury stopped 18 shots. Rangers Coach John Tortorella said Lundqvist has been aided by the strong play of the backup goaltender Martin Biron. Devils 5, Panthers 2: Ilya Kovalchuk had two third-period goals to lead the host Devils. The win enabled the Devils to end a two-game losing streak, while the Panthers lost for the second straight night. Patrik Elias, who was playing in his 1,000th game, had a goal and two assists. Hurricanes 4, Sabres 2: Eric Staal had a goal and two assists to lift host Carolina. Chad LaRose scored the go-ahead goal with 11:50 left, Justin Faulk also scored and Brandon Sutter added an empty-netter. The Hurricanes have won four of seven. Avalanche 4, Blackhawks 0: Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves to earn his second shutout, and T. J. Galiardi had a goal and an assist to lead visiting Colorado to its ninth win in 10 games. In another game, Anaheim Ducks defeated NY Islanders. Realignment scrapped The NHL said it would not go forward with its realignment plan and modified playoff format next season after the players union refused to agree to the changes. The changes were approved in December by the NHL's board of governors, with the league planning to switch from two three-division conferences to six divisions. The league said it would maintain its current alignment and playoff format next season. “It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to approve a plan that an overwhelming majority of our clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including players,” the NHL deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, said.
