Marc Staal

The injury-depleted New York Rangers have recalled defenseman Brendan Bell from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League. The Rangers made the move Sunday, one day after playing without leading defensemen Marc Staal (concussion) and Michael Sauer (sprained right shoulder) in a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders. The Rangers are 0-1-2 in the midst of a season-opening, seven-game road trip that will take them to Western Canada for four games before they return for the home opener on Oct. 27. Bell posted one assist in two games with Connecticut after being sent down by...

NEWARK - The Eastern Conference finals between the rival New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils finally got ugly - real ugly. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was sucker punched in the third period by former teammate Mike Rupp. Coaches Peter DeBoer of New Jersey and John Tortorella of New York screamed at each other after the incident. And the Rangers blew their cool, as the Devils rode two goals and an assist by Zach Parise to a 4-1 victory on Monday night that evened the series, 2-2. "Throughout a seven-game series," Parise said, "both teams are going to get frustrated with things.

New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal made his return to the lineup after a nearly yearlong absence from a concussion. Staal, who turns 25 in January, has been out all season because of the effects of a concussion sustained in February when he was hit by his brother, Eric, a forward for the Carolina Hurricanes. He has been skating this month and was cleared for light contact. Staal was set to make his debut Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Winter Classic. Rangers Coach John Tortorella said on Saturday that nothing had changed and he did not expect Staal to play.

NEW YORK - David Clarkson's deflected goal 2:31 into the third period snapped a tie and lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers that evened the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece Wednesday night. Clarkson built off the momentum created by Ryan Carter's goal late in the second period that tied the score, 2-2. Ilya Kovalchuk had given the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first. Defenseman Bryce Salvador added two assists, and Martin Brodeur stopped 23 saves for the win. "We had to keep going to the net, and I think we were doing some...

Jonathan Toews scored on a penalty shot to start Chicago's four-goal first period against New York backup Martin Biron, and the Blackhawks emphatically snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers on Thursday night. Toews kicked off the spree just over a minute in, defenseman Nick Leddy doubled the lead 1:03 later, and Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa added goals to make it 4-0 before 10 minutes had elapsed. Corey Crawford kept things mostly intact the rest of the way, stopping 22 shots to help the Blackhawks earn their first win since...

P.A. Parenteau scored two goals in regulation and linemate Matt Moulson netted the winner in a shootout as the Islanders outlasted the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers, 4-3, in Uniondale, N.Y., last night. Parenteau scored in the first and second periods after Moulson opened the scoring as the Islanders grabbed a 3-1 lead. But the Rangers overcame sloppiness in front of backup goalie Martin Biron and got even on goals by Marc Staal, Marian Gaborik, and Derek Stepan. It wasn't enough as Evgeni Nabokov returned after a bout with the flu and made 33...

Marc Staal scored a power-play goal 1:35 into overtime after Brad Richards tied it in the dying seconds of regulation to lift the New York Rangers to a stunning 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night at Madison Square Garden. With goalie Henrik Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker, Washington's Joel Ward took a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Carl Hagelin with 21.3 seconds left in the third period. Richards tied it on the first half of the power play with just 7.6 seconds to go, and Staal won it with a drive that...

Sean Avery's days with the New York Rangers appear over. The noted agitator cleared waivers Wednesday and was assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the AHL. The move clears his $1.93 million from the team's salary cap. Avery was in the final season of the contract he originally signed with the Dallas Stars. He didn't play in New York's final two exhibition games in Europe, and it became inevitable he would be cut. Rangers coach John Tortorella said Tuesday the club had better players than Avery.

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff The Bruins have signed Benoit Pouliot to a one-year, $1.1 million contract. RDS was among the first to report the signing. The 24-year-old was the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft. Minnesota traded Pouliot to Montreal for Guillaume Latendresse on Nov. 23, 2009. This past season, Pouliot scored 13 goals and 17 assists in 79 games. Pouliot was a healthy scratch for four games in the first round against the Bruins. "He's been a healthy scratch in Montreal," acknowledged GM Peter Chiarelli.

Although the Washington Capitals were officially eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Rangers in a Game 7 squeaker, the upstart club out of the No. 7 seed knows it let this series get away in what it thought was the final seconds of Game 5. Just 7.6 seconds away from taking a 3-2 series lead over the top-seeded Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the seventh-seeded Capitals allowed the tying goal to Brad Richards on the first...

Although the Washington Capitals were officially eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Rangers in a Game 7 squeaker, the upstart club out of the No. 7 seed knows it let this series get away in what it thought was the final seconds of Game 5. Just 7.6 seconds away from taking a 3-2 series lead over the top-seeded Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the seventh-seeded Capitals allowed the tying goal to Brad Richards on the first...

Marc Staal scored a power-play goal 1:35 into overtime after Brad Richards tied it in the dying seconds of regulation to lift the New York Rangers to a stunning 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night. With goalie Henrik Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker, Washington's Joel Ward took a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Carl Hagelin with 21.3 seconds left in the third period. Richards tied it on the first half of the power play with just 7.6 seconds to go, and Staal won it with a drive that...

Marc Staal scored a power-play goal 1:35 into overtime after Brad Richards tied it in the dying seconds of regulation to lift the New York Rangers to a stunning 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night at Madison Square Garden. With goalie Henrik Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker, Washington's Joel Ward took a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Carl Hagelin with 21.3 seconds left in the third period. Richards tied it on the first half of the power play with just 7.6 seconds to go, and Staal...

Coach John Tortorella tweaked the New York Rangers' top two lines during practice on Friday ahead of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoff series against the Ottawa Senators. The series is tied 2-2 after New York's 3-2 overtime loss on Wednesday in Ottawa. After a day off, the Rangers returned to practice on Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have scored nine goals in four games. So Tortorella had Marian Gaborik skate with Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov, while Brad Richards centered Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky during practice.

Marian Gaborik scored the Rangers' third power-play goal in the dying seconds of overtime, and New York snapped its season-worst, three-game regulation losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday night. With the Madison Square Garden crowd imploring the Rangers to "Shoot the puck," Gaborik snapped a rising shot over goalie Evgeni Nabokov's right shoulder to win it at 4:54. Brad Richards scored twice on the power play to reach 20 goals for the ninth time, and helped set up Gaborik's winner for the Rangers, who hold a four-point lead over Pittsburgh in the...

P.A. Parenteau scored two goals in regulation and linemate Matt Moulson netted the winner in a shootout as the Islanders outlasted the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers, 4-3, in Uniondale, N.Y., last night. Parenteau scored in the first and second periods after Moulson opened the scoring as the Islanders grabbed a 3-1 lead. But the Rangers overcame sloppiness in front of backup goalie Martin Biron and got even on goals by Marc Staal, Marian Gaborik, and Derek Stepan. It wasn't enough as Evgeni Nabokov returned after a bout with the flu and made 33...

Artem Anisimov scored the first of three Rangers goals during a 3 1/2-minute span early in the second period, and host New York routed a frustrated Alex Ovechkin and the slumping Washington Capitals, 7-0, last night. Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in his fifth shutout of the season, and Ryan Callahan scored twice in the third period as the Rangers handed Washington its sixth consecutive defeat. Mired in a scoring slump, Ovechkin got in a rare fight when he went toe-to-toe with New York’s Brandon Dubinsky in the second period, then left the game in the third after being hit by a shot.

Richard Park scored the go-ahead goal 2:23 into the third period, Evgeni Malkin padded the lead with two, and workhorse Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves to give the suddenly hot Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers last night at Madison Square Garden. Park finished a crisp, three-way passing play with Matt Cooke and Deryk Engelland and beat Henrik Lundqvist with a shot inside the left post for his fourth of the season to put the Penguins ahead, 2-1. Malkin scored with 12:50 remaining to make it 3-1, turning a giveaway by Marc Staal into a...

Jonathan Toews scored on a penalty shot to start Chicago's four-goal first period against New York backup Martin Biron, and the Blackhawks emphatically snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers on Thursday night. Toews kicked off the spree just over a minute in, defenseman Nick Leddy doubled the lead 1:03 later, and Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa added goals to make it 4-0 before 10 minutes had elapsed. Corey Crawford kept things mostly intact the rest of the way, stopping 22 shots to help the Blackhawks earn their first win since...

Final: Rangers win, 3-0. 10:01, third period, 3-0 Rangers: Seidenberg's shot appears initially to find the net, but replay confirms that it went just to the left of the pipe and got stuck in the netting. No goal. 2:53, third period, 3-0 Rangers: Artem Anisimov makes it a three-goal game with his 10th of the season, coming during 4-on-4 play. He had Del Zotto to his left on a 2-on-1 (Dennis Seidenberg back), but kept it himself and beat Thomas blocker side.