Tonight the New York Rangers will retire the number of Hall of Fame center Jean Ratelle. His number 19 will hang in the rafters of Madison Square Garden alongside Ed Giacomin, Mike Richter, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, Harry Howell, Andy Bathgate, and Ratelle’s lifelong friend Rod Gilbert.

Gilbert spoke to Blueshirt Banter about Ratelle’s number joining his in the rafters at the Rangers 24th annual Skate with the Greats.

“This is pretty emotional for me because Jean Ratelle has played a major role in my life,” Gilbert explained. “I grew up with him. We met when we were 10-years-old in Montreal. We went to the same school, played peewee together, and then we graduated to the juniors, and then we came here.

“Along with Vic Hadfield we became a successful line,” the President of the New York Rangers Alumni Association continued. “I was devastated when he was traded with my other good friend Brad Park. I was sad, disappointed. It almost put an end to my career. But I was happy when he continued to flourish in Boston and had some really great years there.”

NEW YORK (AP) With time winding down in overtime, Trevor Daley knew he needed to get in position in front of the net.

Daley was in the right spot and tipped in Frans Nielsen's pass with 5.6 seconds showing on the clock to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the rebuilding New York Rangers on Sunday night.

''I heard the bench saying there was only 10 seconds left so I knew we had to get it to the net,'' Daley said. ''I went to the net and Nielsen made a great play. I just got lucky and put my stick on it and it went in.''

Andreas Athanasiou and Darren Helm also scored for the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard stopped 36 shots. Detroit improved to 5-3-2 in its last 10 games and pulled into a tie with Florida five points behind Columbus for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

''We know we're in desperation hockey,'' Daley said. ''We know we've got to win, we've got to win now. Tonight was just another desperate game on a back-to-back.''

J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast scored for the Rangers, and Henrik Lundqvistmade 31 saves. New York lost its seventh straight, hours after trading star forward Rick Nash to Boston for three players and two draft picks. It also was the Rangers' first game since trading speedy forward Michael Grabner to New Jersey on Friday night.

Ryan Spooner, one of the players acquired from the Bruins, had two assists in his debut for the Rangers, who are 0-6-1 in their last seven and have just three wins in the last 17 games (3-13-1).

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) After enduring a long losing streak, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist didn't much care how the New York Rangers won a hockey game.

Lundqvist made a season-high 50 saves but the Rangers still needed John Gilmour's overtime goal to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 6-5 Wednesday night.

''It just feels good to win a game, to sit here and smile for once,'' Lundqvist said. ''I am just tired of losing so I don't care how we win it, just as long as we win it.''

The win snapped a seven-game New York losing streak (0-6-1). It also came after the struggling Rangers had jettisoned several of their high-profile players at Monday's NHL trade deadline.

''It doesn't matter what you go through,'' said Lundqvist. ''All the trades . . . was depressing, I got to be honest.

''But we have to move past it now and it's about winning. Winning makes everybody smile and hopefully it can continue.''

Gilmour, a rookie defenseman, won the game just 1:22 into overtime when he one-timed a pass from Ryan Spooner. It was Spooner's third assist of the game.

Neither the Canucks (24-32-8) or the Rangers (28-30-6) are likely to make the playoffs but the teams put on a pretty exciting performance.

The Rangers took advantage of a couple of deflected shots to roar out to a 3-0 first period lead. They scored goals 43 second apart with just 2:05 gone in the game. But the Canucks refused to roll over. They outshot New York 55-27 and battled back to tie the score three times.

''We could have mailed it in, packed it in, and called it a night,'' said Vancouver's Bo Horvat, who had a goal and two assists. ''That's not the way of our group. We knew we had to pull up our socks and get going again. I thought we did a great job.''

Kevin Hayes scored twice for the Rangers. Vladislav Namestnikov, obtained in a multi-player trade from Tampa Bay on Monday, had a goal and an assist. Jimmy Vesey and Mika Zibanejad had the other Ranger goals.

Namestnikov had arrived in Vancouver Tuesday night and barely had time to meet his new teammates.

''The first period was tough,'' he said. ''I didn't have any legs after a long flight but as the game went on you kind of settle in.''

Namestnikov scored his 21st goal of the season on a second-period breakaway after stripping the puck from Canuck captain Henrik Sedin.

''Hockey is a fun game, so you have to enjoy it and you have to come to the rink and have fun,'' he said. ''Tonight, we did that.''

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) Henrik Lundqvist has put together a two-game stretch unlike any since goaltenders began wearing facemasks full-time.

In fact, it's possible that nobody in the NHL has ever worked this hard for back-to-back wins.

Henrik Lundqvist became the first goalie to stop 50 or more shots in consecutive victories since the NHL began tracking saves in 1955, lifting New York over the Calgary Flames 3-1 on Friday night.

Lundqvist tied a career high with 50 stops on his 36th birthday. He is only the third NHL goalie to post consecutive 50-save games, joining the Rangers' Gump Worsley on Jan. 27 and 30, 1963, and Chicago's Al Rollins on Oct. 9 and 15, 1955. Worsley lost both his 50-save games, and Rollins split his.

''You want to feel like you're making a difference out there. That's why I'm here,'' Lundqvist said.

No Rangers goalie had made 50 saves in a win since Mike Richter in 1996 before Lundqvist beat Vancouver 6-5 in overtime Wednesday night.

''We kept them under 55 (shots) today, so we made his night a little lighter,'' Rangers defenseman Marc Staal joked.

Lundqvist's best save left Mikael Backlund shaking his head in the opening minute of the second period. Lundqvist dropped his stick and acrobatically dived across the crease to get his blocker on what looked like an easy goal for the Flames' center.

Not bad for a well-worn goalie in his 797th career game.

''I'm 1-0 as a 36-year-old,'' quipped the veteran Swede, whose 430 career wins rank eighth on the career list.

Recently acquired center Ryan Spooner led New York with a goal and an assist. The 26-year-old has one goal and six assists in three games since he was part of a package traded to the Rangers from Boston for Rick Nash. Spooner is the first in franchise history with six assists in his first three games with the team, and also the first Ranger with multipoint efforts in his first three games with the club, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

''It's been great,'' Spooner said. ''I just really want to help out and that's what I've been trying to do.''

Kevin Hayes and Pavel Buchnevich also scored for New York. The Ranger will try for a Western Canada sweep Saturday night when they play at Edmonton.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, and Alexander Georgiev made 35 saves for his first NHL win as the resurgent New York Rangers held off the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Saturday night.

Chris Kreider and Paul Carey also scored for the Rangers (30-30-6), who swept a three-game road trip through Western Canada that followed their seven-game losing streak. After trading away several veteran stars, including captain Ryan McDonagh and forward Rick Nash, leading up to Monday's deadline, the rebuilding Rangers - tied for last place in the Metropolitan Division - are just three points out of a playoff spot in the crowded Eastern Conference race.

Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the disappointing Oilers (27-34-4), who have lost three in a row.

Georgiev made his third career start in place of No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist, rested on the second night of a back-to-back after two straight 50-save wins. With a 3-1 victory in Calgary on his 36th birthday Friday night, Lundqvist became the first goaltender to stop 50 or more shots in consecutive wins since the NHL began tracking saves in 1955.

New York opened the scoring 54 seconds into the game on its first shot when Zibanejad fed the puck across to Kreider, who sent it into the open side of the net before Oilers goalie Cam Talbot could get across. It was the 13th time this season the Oilers have allowed a goal on their opponent's first shot of the game.

Edmonton tied it six minutes into the second period when an innocent-looking shot from McDavid off a sharp angle squeezed in past Georgiev for his 30th goal of the season.

The Rangers regained the lead on the power play a couple of minutes later as Zibanejad batted in a rebound on a scramble in front.

New York got another one shortly afterward before the midway mark of the second as Talbot got a piece of Carey's deflection before it trickled in behind him.

NEW YORK (AP) Patrik Laine went more than a year between hat tricks, and still the 19-year-old Finnish star is on a remarkable pace.

Laine got his fourth hat trick and set a career high with his 38th goal, lifting the Winnipeg Jets over the New York Rangers 3-0 on Tuesday night.

The 19-year-old star had been the youngest ever with three hat tricks - getting there at 18 years, 302 days - but it had been over a year since his last three-goal game. He joins Jimmy Carson and Dale Hawerchuk as the only players with four hat tricks before turning 20.

Laine has at least a point in nine straight games (13 goals, six assists) and has scored multiple goals in four of his past five contests. He's two goals behind Washington's Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead this season.

Laine has taken off since being put on a line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny.

''Our line is playing pretty good hockey,'' Laine said.

Laine is the first visiting teenager with a hat trick at Madison Square Garden since Toronto's Ted Kennedy on Dec. 27, 1944, according to Sportsnet Stats.

Steve Mason made 31 saves as the Jets extended their winning streak to three. Winnipeg has earned points in seven straight road games (6-0-1) and improved to 14-6-5 against the Eastern Conference.

''He didn't get overworked,'' Jets coach Paul Maurice said. ''He had a couple of tough ones early, a couple of squeezers right around the net that he made a good save on, and then a lot of what came to him, he saw clean, so it was a good start for sure.''

Henrik Lundqvist made his 798th career appearance and stopped 31 shots as the Rangers lost for the first time in four games. Lundqvist made 50 saves in each of his previous two games.

''At the end of the night, we tried hard and tried battling back in the third,'' Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. ''That's a real good team we played tonight and they were able to get their best shooter to get a few good looks.''

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) By the time Tampa Bay allowed even one shot on goal, New York was down two goals and staring down yet another defeat.

The league-leading Lightning can blitz any NHL team, and they had little trouble with the last-place Rangers on Thursday night.

Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists and Tampa Bay chased Henrik Lundqvist with a barrage of shots in a 5-3 win.

The Lightning had 17 shots on goal before the Rangers got their first nearly 11 minutes into the game. Lundqvist kept New York's deficit to 2-0 through one period but was pulled after allowing two more goals in the second period.

Cirelli, playing his fourth career game, helped the Lightning improve to 8-0-1 in their past nine games. Adam Erne, Cedric Paquette. Tyler Johnson and Chris Kunitz also scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for his league-leading 40th victory, which ties the franchise record.

''We keep growing as a team,'' Kunitz said. ''We've got new guys in the lineup and everybody's been contributing and that's a sign of a good team. We just have to keep growing these last fifteen games and keep getting better.''

Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist for New York, which has dropped consecutive games since sweeping a three-game trip to Western Canada. New York is nine games outside of the final playoff spot with 14 games left.

''We're trying to worry about our game and what we can do every game,'' New York center Mika Zibanejad said. ''It's been a tough stretch, a tough season. ... We're trying to go out there with the mindset to win games and battle.''

Lundqvist made 27 saves before being replaced by Alexander Georgiev, who made 13 saves.

''That's the hardest a team has come at us all year long,'' New York coach Alain Vigneault said. ''They came at us with speed and skill. We had a real hard time following the pace. There's no doubt they dominated us.''

Paquette and Erne scored during Tampa Bay's dominant first period, and Cirelli made it 3-0 just 1:53 into the second. After Spooner cut it to 3-1, Kunitz chased Lundqvist and Johnson got to Georgiev to make it 5-1 by the end of the period.

NOTES: Lundqvist appeared in his 799th career game. ... New York D Kevin Shattenkirk missed his 22nd consecutive game with a knee injury but has resumed skating and is traveling with the team. ... Tampa Bay's 21 shots on goal in the first period were a season-high for a period. ... New York RW Chris Kreider did not return after the first period for ''precautionary'' reasons, according to the team. ... Zibanejad returned to the lineup after missing the previous game with the flu. ... New York D Rob O'Gara recorded his first career NHL point.

UP NEXT:

Lightning: Host Montreal on Saturday.

Rangers: At Florida on Saturday.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Florida Panthers coach Bob Boughner didn't even see the winning goal. Instead, he simply listened for the roar of the crowd.

''I haven't even seen it yet,'' Boughner said after the game. ''Superstition. I looked away, I heard the noise. I didn't see any of our (shootout) goals.''

Vincent Trocheck scored the deciding goal in the shootout to lift the Panthers to a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday night for their franchise-record eighth straight home win.

''Yeah, it's pretty fun knowing that if you score, it's over, game-winner,'' Trocheck said. ''Everybody in here kind of wants the puck on their stick in that situation.''

Aleksander Barkov also scored in the tiebreaker for the Panthers, who have points in nine straight games. The Panthers are two points behind Columbusand three behind New Jersey for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with three games in hand on each.

Frank Vatrano scored a goal in his Panthers debut, Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist, and Jamie McGinn also scored. Trocheck had two assists. Roberto Luongo made 34 saves.

''We've been winning different ways throughout this stretch here. That's what good teams do,'' Luongo said.

Kevin Hayes, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello scored in regulation for the Rangers, who lost their third straight. Ryan Spooner had a pair of assists. Zuccarello also scored to open the shootout. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots in his 800th career game, becoming the 15th goalie in NHL history to reach the milestone.

NEW YORK (AP) Jimmy Vesey's first career hat trick came at a good time for the struggling Rangers.

Vesey scored three times, Mats Zuccarello had two goals and New York beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Monday night.

''It's something you definitely want to accomplish,'' Vesey said. ''I was just saying I remember it took me all four years in college to get one. It's nice to have one.

''Everyone dreams when they are a kid of scoring the big goal or scoring a hat trick. I think it's something I will always remember, so it's a great feeling.''

Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for the Rangers, who ended a three-game losing streak and earned their first home win since Feb. 9. Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad each had three assists.

Backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 41 saves for his second win of the season.

Georgiev made a key pad save on Sebastian Aho late in the third period to preserve the lead.

''I knew they were coming hard,'' Georgiev said. ''It's just instinct how I stretched that pad.''

Teuvo Teravainen, Lee Stempniak and Victor Rask scored for the Hurricanes. Scott Darling, who has struggled in his first season with Carolina, made 17 stops.

Tied at 3 in the third, Vesey took a loose puck at the left faceoff circle and wristed a high shot past Darling at 12:15.

''That's where I was going,'' Vesey said. ''I had a shot from a similar angle in the first period and I kind of misfired and put it lower than I wanted. I was definitely trying to go high blocker and just fortunately it went in.''

Zuccarello added an empty-netter at 17:23 for his 14th of the season and the 100th of his career, and Vesey capped his hat trick with an empty-netter in the final minute for his 15th goal this season.

The Rangers extended their home winning streak against Carolina to 15 games, dating to Jan. 5, 2011. The streak is the longest for the Rangers against one opponent in franchise history. The Rangers also have won 24 of their past 28 games overall against the Hurricanes.

NEW YORK (AP) Although they will likely miss the playoffs for the first time since 2010, the New York Rangers are still scrapping for wins.

Mika Zibanejad scored the tying goal late in the third period and then got the winner 2:53 into overtime to rally the Rangers to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

On the winner, Zibanejad took a nice pass from Kreider and snuck a wrist shot past Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith for his career-best 22nd goal and 100th of his career. The Ranges won after overcoming deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 in the third period.

''It was a fun game,'' Zibanejad. ''A lot of chances, good battle out there. It's always nice when you get away with a win from a game like this.''

Chris Kreider had a goal and three assists for his first career four-point night, and Jesper Fast also scored to help the Rangers get their second straight win after a three-game skid. Neal Pionk had three assists and Alexandar Georgiev, making his second consecutive start, finished with 37 saves.

''It's a group of professional athletes,'' Kreider said of the Rangers' attitude after trading off several key pieces at the trade deadline. ''Guys aren't going to quit.''

Bryan Rust, Riley Sheahan and Carl Hagelin scored for the Penguins, who lost for just the fifth time in their last 15 games (10-4-1). DeSmith, filling in for injured starter Matt Murray, stopped 29 shots in his ninth career start. Murray has missed eight straight games after a concussion during practice Feb. 26.

''They found another gear,'' Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz said. ''They really took it to us in the third. We paid for it.''

Evgeni Malkin had a chance to win the game in the final 11 seconds when the referees awarded the Penguins a penalty shot because Georgiev knocked the net off the moorings with under two minutes remaining but the rookie goalie stopped Malkin with his right pad to force overtime.

''There was certainly a lot going around in that last period,'' Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. ''Momentum is a funny thing sometimes. . Take the two points and go from there.''

The Rangers are 2-0-1 in their last three games, and 5-2-2 in their last nine. New York is seven points out of the last postseason spot in the Eastern Conference with 11 games remaining.

The Rangers erased two deficits in the third period with three goals to earn a point. Kreider got a power-play goal at 8:42 of the third, before Fast tied it 2-2 with less than seven minutes remaining.

''Guys made a concerted effort to get pucks in deep and make their defense turn,'' Kreider said. I think when we were able to start doing that as a team we were able to tilt the ice a little bit.''

However, Pittsburgh regained the lead when Hagelin finished a wraparound with 4:19 to go.

Rust opened the scoring with his 11th of the season at 1:53 of the second period when his wrist shot sailed past the Georgiev's glove to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Rust, 25, returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a concussion. Former Blueshirt Derick Brassardassisted on the play.

Just 55 seconds later, Sheahan made it 2-0 with his 10th as he crashed the net and redirected Kris Letang's shot. Carter Rowney also assisted on the play, registering his first point since Dec. 18, ending a 21-game pointless streak.

NOTES: Susan Sarandon served as celebrity guest `Inside the Glass' analyst alongside Pierre McGuire during the first period on the NBCSN telecast. ... Murray joined his teammates during the morning skate but a timetable for his return is still unclear. ... Pittsburgh reassigned forward Josh Jooris to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League to make room for Rust. . Kevin Hayes skated in his 299th career NHL game, while Mika Zibanejad participated in his 398th NHL game. ... Prior to the game, Rangers announced defenseman Tony DeAngelo suffered a sprained ankle and will miss the next three-four weeks essentially ending his season.

UP NEXT

Penguins: At Montreal on Thursday night.

Rangers: At St. Louis on Saturday.

ST. LOUIS (AP) The St. Louis Blues got a much-needed two points against the New York Rangers. They hope they haven't lost leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko in the process.

Brayden Schenn scored 1:02 into overtime, Alex Pietrangelo had two goals in regulation and the St. Louis Blues came back to beat the New York Rangers 4-3 on Saturday night. But Tarasenko played just 7 minutes, 53 seconds of the first period and left the ice following his last shift of the period with what the team called an upper-body injury. He did not return to the Blues bench to begin the second period.

Coach Mike Yeo said no update will be given until Sunday morning before the team plays at Chicago.

''There's not much to react to at the time,'' Blues forward Alexander Steensaid. ''We needed the two points and we regrouped in both intermissions and just talked about what we could focus on and we'll have a look at it now and see where it's at.''

Nikita Soshnikov also scored for the Blues, who won their third game in their last four. Jake Allen made 17 saves as St. Louis moved within three points of idle Dallas and Colorado for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

''Season's on the line really,'' Schenn said. ''We've got games in hand. We've got to grab two points whenever we can down the stretch.''

Mika Zibanejad scored twice for Rangers, earning his third multigoal game of the season. Mats Zuccarello also scored, Chris Kreider had a pair of assists and Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves for New York, which had won its previous two games.

It was the first time this season the Rangers lost when entering the third period with the lead.

Pietrangelo tied the game at 5:15 of the third period with a power-play goal. Pietrangelo's 14th tied his career season high, set last year.

''Just get the puck to the net,'' Pietrangelo said. ''(Steen) did a great job there and (Jaden Schwartz) giving me a lane to shoot. It's a good job by them when they're in front of the net it's easy to see the back of the net and I just found the hole.''

The Rangers came alive after a lackluster opening period, scoring three times in the second to take a 3-2 lead.

Zibanejad got it going 42 seconds into the second, deflecting Jesper Fast's shot to tie it at 1. But St. Louis regained the lead on Soshnikov's first goal with the Blues at 2:24 when Chris Thorburn carried the puck into the Rangers zone and dropped it back to Soshnikov for a one-timer.

''They're a good team and we talked about that before,'' Zibanejad said. ''I thought we worked ourselves back into the game and it was unfortunate not to come up with the two points there.''

Zuccarello tied it at 2 when he took advantage of a lucky bounce with 7:53 left in the second, chipping the puck past Allen after his pass attempt bounced off of Alexander Steen's stick right back him.

Zibanejad's power play goal with 5:25 left in the second gave the Rangers a 3-2 advantage.

Pietrangelo gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with 4:11 left in the first period, scoring off of a rebound from Vladimir Sobotka's shot.

The Blues outshot the Rangers 16-2 in the first. Georgiev came up with several tough saves, including stopping Tarasenko on a 2-on-1 with Jaden Schwartz.

''Well, we followed the master plan in the first period: tire them out in our own end,'' Rangers coach Alain Vigneault joked.

NEW YORK (AP) Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky have the surging Columbus Blue Jackets in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Panarin had three goals and an assist, Bobrovsky made 29 saves and the Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to nine games with a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

''Obviously, you want to limit the penalties in the third period and the stretch run, but Bob (Bobrovsky) played great and saved us, and Bread (Panarin) was able to seal the deal,'' Columbus defenseman Ian Cole said.

The Blue Jackets are tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins at 87 points. Both teams trail Washington by four.

It is Columbus' longest winning streak since its 16-game run last season from Nov. 29, 2016, to Jan. 3, 2017.

It was Panarin's second career hat trick and first with the Blue Jackets. Coincidentally, his other hat trick also came against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 17, 2016, with Chicago.

This season, Panarin has 22 points in the past 16 games (10 goals, 12 assists).

''We played such a good game until we ended up giving up back-to-back power plays and that kind of changes the landscape of the game,'' Columbus coach John Tortorella said.

''I guess he scored three, and you know how those guys are - he has that net staring at him with that goalie pulled and he wants to get back out there, and I'm glad it happened for him.''

Markus Nutivaara and Alexander Wennberg also scored for the Blue Jackets.

Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad scored power-play goals and Kevin Hayeshad a short-handed goal for the Rangers.

Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves in his first start since March 10 against Florida. Lundqvist was briefly shaken up when Matt Calvert upended him and knocked his helmet off with five minutes remaining.

''I was just more surprised. I thought both of them saw me, but I guess not,'' Lundqvist said. ''It hurt pretty much everywhere - my foot, my back, my neck. We'll see how it feels tomorrow. It happens.''

With Columbus leading 3-2 in the third period, Cam Atkinson drove toward the net and Lundqvist made the initial save, but Panarin poked the puck free and in for his 24th goal at 11:19.

''I was mad at Cam that he's shooting for once,'' Panarin joked through a translator. ''And then I'm grateful the referee probably didn't see the moment he was behind the goalie and that helped us.''

Kreider scored his 14th with 1:52 remaining to get the Rangers to 4-3.