Wednesdays National Hockey League Capsules
TORONTO 2, NY RANGERS 1 (SO)
TORONTO New coach, similar problems for the New York Rangers.
Nikolai Kulemin scored the lone goal in shootout and Vesa Toskala denied all three attempts as the Toronto Maple Leafs spoiled John Tortorellas debut with a 2-1 victory over the Rangers in the conclusion of a home-and-home series.
Kulemin also collected an assist on Niklas Hagmans goal in regulation and Toskala made 31 saves before the bonus format for the Maple Leafs, who went 3-0-1 against the Rangers this season despite not scoring in either the first or second periods in any of those contests.
Defenseman Wade Redden netted his first goal in over four months and All-Star Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots for New York, which has lost 11 of its last 13 contests (2-7-4).
Tortorella, who won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, replaced Tom Renney on Monday - just one day after the Rangers lost to the Maple Leafs in overtime at Madison Square Garden.
Kulemin, who was denied on a breakaway in the extra session, opened the shootout by beating Lundqvist with a quick snap shot to the stick side.
The early advantage was all Toronto needed thanks to Toskala, who stopped Markus Naslund, captain Chris Drury and Nikolai Zherdev to secure the win.
One of the Rangers prize acquisitions this offseason, Redden has been the target of some animosity from fans because of his lack of production. The 31-year-old scored his first goal in 58 games with 9:34 remaining in the middle session.
On a man advantage, Redden took a pass from fellow blue-liner Michal Rozsival at the right point and fired a slap shot past Toskala for his third goal of the season and first since October 10.
Hagman, who scored the overtime game-winner in Sundays 3-2 triumph over the Rangers, leveled the contest at 1-1 with 9:39 left in the third period. He took a pass from Mikhail Grabovski, deked a New York defender and fired a wrist shot over Lundqvists glove.
DETROIT 4, SAN JOSE 1
DETROIT Henrik Zetterberg scored a pair of goals as the Detroit Red Wings used a fast start to post a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in battle of the Western Conferences top teams.
Marian Hossa and Ville Leino scored first-period tallies and Kris Draper notched two assists in support of Ty Conklins 34-save effort for Detroit, which has won three of its last four games.
With the win, the Red Wings crept within three points of the Sharks for the top spot in the West.
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff scored the lone goal and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 29 shots for San Jose, which had its four-game winning streak halted.
PITTSBURGH 1, NY ISLANDERS 0
PITTSBURGH Petr Sykora snapped a scoreless tie with 2:28 remaining in the third period, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1-0 triumph over the New York Islanders.
Fleury made 21 saves to help Pittsburgh win for third time in four contests despite missing captain Sidney Crosby, who is sidelined with a sore groin.
The 24-year-old Fleury turned aside six shots in the first period, 11 in the second and four in the third to secure his third shutout of the season and 14th career.
Yann Danis stopped 27 shots for the Islanders, who have dropped eight of 10.
PHILADELPHIA 2, LOS ANGELES 0
PHILADELPHIA Martin Biron made 34 saves to record his second shutout of the season as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0.
All-Star Jeff Carter scored a power-play goal late in the second period and assisted Simon Gagnes empty-netter for the Flyers, who have won five of their last six contests.
Erik Ersberg stopped 18 shots for the Kings, who played without captain Dustin Brown for the second straight game.
Brown, who ranks second on the club with 23 goals and 48 points, did not travel with Los Angeles because of the impending birth of his child.