NHL scores 2015: Rangers sneak past Hurricanes, 4-3, to snap 3-game losing streak

New York’s second-longest losing streak of the season came to an end Monday.

by Mary Clarke

Dec 1, 2015, 1:00 PM UTC

Al Bello/Getty Images

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It wasn't the New York Rangers' best win of the season, but it was one they certainly needed. After a winless Thanksgiving weekend, New York came into Monday night's game on a three-game losing streak that started last Wednesday against Montreal. The defeats dropped the Rangers out of the league's top spot as New York looked like a team finally coming back to earth after a strong month of November.

They might still be coming back down, but the Rangers pulled out a much needed 4-3 win over division rival Carolina Hurricanes to snap their losing streak and halt their tumble down the league standings. New York got ahead of Carolina with two goals in the first and never looked back, eventually expanding its lead to 4-1 after Derick Brassard's tally late in the second period.

The Rangers' first two goals came with an extra man as New York recorded its first multi-power play goal game of the season. New York's power play has sat in the middle of the league at a 19.7 percent conversion rate, tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the No. 15 spot. While the Rangers don't have the most potent offense in the league, a middle-of-the-road power play is surprising given the caliber of their team.

More surprising might be the recent play of Henrik Lundqvist, who has gone from looking invincible to very human in the span of days. Victor Rask's 4-2 tally for the Hurricanes was quite a weak one given up by Lundqvist, a routine puck that somehow found its way through his open five-hole to cut the Rangers' lead in half. The puck seemed slow enough for Lundqvist to handle, but the netminder was way too late in closing the pads to get the stop.

Rangers fans can breathe a bit easier now that the team has broken its slide. New York is now three points behind the Montreal Canadiens for first place, but more struggles look to be on the horizon for the franchise after a brilliant month of November.

Scores

New York Islanders 5, Colorado Avalanche 3

New York Rangers 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3

Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Edmonton Oilers 0

Anaheim Ducks 4, Vancouver Canucks 0

3 things we learned

1. Garret Sparks not only has the best pads in the NHL, but he's now a history-making goaltender, too!

Toronto Marlies call up Garret Sparks made his NHL debut for the Maple Leafs on Monday night in style. Not only does the kid have some really sweet pads with maple leaves checkered across them, Sparks also became the first Leafs netminder to win his NHL debut with a shutout. A 3-0 shutout of the Oilers would be unremarkable most nights, but Sparks' 24-save performance left him emotional after the game in one of the sweetest stories you'll probably get from the league this year. Here's to many more to come!

2. The Islanders and Ducks both got last-second power play goals in two different games

Making every second count, both the Islanders and the Ducks got last-second power play goals in their respective games, just beating the buzzer with less than three seconds left on each tally. New York's goal by Kyle Okposo had a bit more weight behind it, tying the Isles' game against the Avalanche in the dying seconds of the first. The Ducks doubled their lead on the Canadiens with Rickard Rakell's extra man goal as Vancouver was sent scrambling in the dying seconds that put Anaheim up 2-0. It's quite inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but quite a fun coincidence all the same!

3. Carolina took full advantage of this Rangers Twitter goof