NEW YORK — The Rangers’ season-high three-game losing streak ended Monday night – but barely.

Outplayed five-on-five by the Carolina Hurricanes for almost the entire game at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers scored on their first two power plays and Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward’s gaffes gave them two more goals and a three-goal lead for an eventual 4-3 win.

But the Rangers’ overall defense, which has been leaky throughout and before the losing streak, allowed the Hurricanes to hang around. The Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist, who made 33 saves, were fortunate to escape with a one-goal victory.

The last time the Rangers, who have won 11 in a row at home against Carolina, had lost four straight was Feb. 3-11, 2011, at the end of a 0-5-1 nosedive.

With the Rangers leading 4-2 heading into the third, a period when they had been shaky in the last stretch of games, Lundqvist stopped Elias Lindholm twice, and at the other end, Ward steadied. With the Rangers pressing, however, the Hurricanes trimmed the lead to 4-3 on Chris Terry’s breakaway that he slid under Lundqvist at 8:23.

ISLANDERS 5, AVALANCHE 3: Cal Clutterbuck broke a tie 1:52 into the third period as New York won at home.

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Kyle Okposo, Mikhail Grabovski, Casey Cizikas and Ryan Strome also scored and the Islanders won for the third time in four games. Thomas Greiss stopped 25 shots.

Jarome Iginla, Nick Holden and former Islander Blake Comeau scored for Colorado, but the Avalanche fell for the fifth time in their last seven games.

MAPLE LEAFS 3, OILERS 0: Rookie Garret Sparks became the first Maple Leafs goalie with a shutout in his NHL debut, lifting Toronto to a win at home.

Sparks made 24 saves in the Leafs’ first shutout since Jonathan Bernier blanked the Dallas Stars on Dec. 23, 2014.

Leo Komarov scored twice and Nazem Kadri also had a goal to help Toronto snap a three-game skid. James van Riemsdyk added three assists.

NOTES

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CANADIENS: Goaltender Carey Price will be out of the lineup for at least six weeks because of a lower-body injury.

Price has been dealing with the injury for weeks. The injury kept him out of nine games earlier this season. The reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner has a 10-2-0 record with two shutouts for the first-place Canadiens.

RANGERS: Coach Alain Vigneault said center Derek Stepan will miss 4 to 6 weeks because of broken ribs.

Stepan injured the ribs in Friday’s loss to Boston. He has six goals, six assists in 23 games this season.


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