Atlanta Thrashers 5, Rangers 4 (SO): Things looked rosy with a three-goal lead late in the second period. But then things disintegrated. Steve Valiquette allowed a goal with 21 seconds to go before intermission. Then two more goals in the third period set up a shootout that went five rounds without a goal. How important will this squandered point be? Only time will tell. Valiquette did have his first NHL assist in the game. But that plus goals by Chris Drury, Nikolay Zherdev, Nik Antropov and Drury again went to waste. The Rangers won't get many opponents as easy as Atlanta the rest of the way. more ›

Normally, seventh-place teams don’t make trades like this, but the Rangers are not a normal team. Constricted by the salary cap and in many ways built to win now, New York sent Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes and Dmitri Kalinin to Phoenix in exchange for Derek Morris and draft picks to Toronto in exchange for Nik Antropov. Morris improves the defense and Antropov really improves the offense. Giving up on Dawes and Prucha is tough, but with their cap situation the Rangers probably would not have been able to resign them next year anyway. The Islanders traded their captain, Bill Guerin, to Pittsburgh in exchange for a conditional draft pick. It is initially a fifth-rounder, but could go as high as a third-rounder if the Penguins win a playoff round. more ›