Rangers Mess Canucks 8-4; N.J. Backup Blanks Blues

NEW YORK--Wayne Gretzky reached another goal-scoring milestone and set up Adam Graves for a pair of first-period scores as the New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks 8-4 last night.

Gretzky scored his 1,071st goal as a pro, tying him with Gordie Howe for total career goals combining regular season and playoffs in the NHL and old World Hockey Association.

Gretzky beat Garth Snow from the right circle at 16:21 of the second period after taking a cross-ice pass from Petr Nedved just after a New York power play had expired to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead.

Gretzky left the game shortly before the end when he was sent into the boards by Bill Muckalt. The Vancouver rookie was called for boarding. There was no immediate word on Gretzky's condition, although he did leave the rink under his own power.

Graves gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with his 22nd goal at 8:43 of the first period. Graves took a cross-ice pass from Gretzky in the high slot and rifled a shot under Snow's glove.

Graves scored his second goal of the period at 14:50 off Gretzky's pass from the corner. With the Rangers on a power play, Graves led Gretzky with a dump pass, then camped in front of Snow and one-timed the return feed.

Graves set up the third Rangers goal when he dove to chop a loose puck toward the net and John MacLean scored past a stickless Snow at 7:22 of the second period for his 18th.

Mats Naslund scored his 25th at 19:03 of the second period on a power play to make it 4-1.

The return of Stanley Cup hero Mark Messier to Madison Square Garden provided an interesting subtext. Messier was loudly cheered by the New York fans, many of whom wore Rangers jerseys with his name on them.

Devils 2, Blues 0

ST. LOUIS--Backup goalie Chris Terreri made 36 saves for his ninth career shutout as the New Jersey Devils beat the St. Louis Blues 2-0 last night to tie a team record with their fifth straight road victory.

Brian Rolston scored in the first period and added an empty-netter for the Devils, who lead the NHL with 18 road victories and 37 points. They handled St. Louis in the first game between the teams since the Blues were fined an NHL record $1.5 million and ordered to surrender a first-round Entry Draft pick for tampering with defenseman Scott Stevens in 1994.

Stevens stayed with New Jersey after the Devils matched the Blues' four-year, $17.5 million offer sheet and made his 10th All-Star appearance last month. The Devils' captain was a star on the Blues' 1990-91 team that finished second overall in the NHL.

Flyers 5, Canadiens 2

PHILADELPHIA--Mikael Renberg and Valeri Zelepukin scored 28 seconds apart in the third period as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 yesterday and continued their torrid run.

The Flyers are unbeaten in 22 of 23 games (16-1-6) since ending a seven-game winless streak on Nov. 14. During that slide, they lost 5-1 at Montreal in perhaps their worst game of the season.

John LeClair scored his NHL-leading 32nd and 33rd goals, and Eric Lindros added his 28th as the Flyers extended their unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1).