The Blueshirts on Wednesday acquired veteran forward Alex Wennberg from the Kraken, sending their own 2024 second-round pick and a conditional fourth-round 2025 pick to Seattle, the team announced.

Wennberg, 29, recorded nine goals and 16 assists in 60 games this season, his third with the Kraken.

The Rangers have until Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline to make any additional trades for their Stanley Cup push.

Originally a 2013 first-round pick by Columbus, the two-way Wennberg joins a Rangers team that lost Blake Wheeler and center Filip Chytil to significant injuries.

Now in his 10th NHL season, Wennberg boasts 90 goals and 240 assists over 693 games with the Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers and Kraken. Wennberg’s 25 points this season were seventh-most on the Kraken and would rank eighth on the Rangers. His four game-winning goals and 65 blocked shots both led Seattle.

Wennberg’s best season came in 2016-17, when he recorded a career-high 59 points, including 46 assists, for Columbus. He scored a career-high 17 goals in 2020-21 during his lone season with Florida.

The Stockholm-born Wennberg has appeared in 42 playoff games, adding a little extra postseason experience to a Rangers team that leads the Metropolitan Division at 40-18-4.

The Rangers tied a franchise record with 10 consecutive wins between Jan. 27 and Feb. 24 but have since dropped three of four games, including Monday at home against the Atlantic-leading Panthers.

Bo Horvat scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the New York Islanders won their fourth straight game, 4-2 over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

Kyle Palmieri, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mathew Barzal also scored for the Islanders who moved within four points of the Philadelphia Flyers for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division, which would guarantee them a spot in the playoffs.

Ilya Sorokin finished with 19 saves and improved to 5-1 since the 6-5 overtime loss to the Rangers in the Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 18.

Horvat broke a 2-2 tie with an incredible individual effort as he moved around Blues defenseman Nick Leddy, corralled his own rebound and buried a wraparound to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead 55 seconds into the third period.

“I knew I could trust him, I knew he was playing heavy in that third period,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said of Horvat. “He was on a mission, he wanted to give it back to his teammates, win the game and be a difference maker and that’s exactly what he did in that third period.”

Barzal added an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Alexey Toropchenko and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues, who had won their last two games. Rookie goaltender Joel Hofer made 29 saves.

“Tough game for us today,” Kyrou said. “We need to be better next game.”

Prior to Horvat’s tally, the Islanders scored twice within 5:15 in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit.

Palmieri converted a skillful forehand-backhand maneuver to get the Islanders on the board at 12:32. The forward had a natural hat trick in the first period of the Islanders 5-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

“We have really good communication on and off the ice,” Pageau said of the chemistry on the newly formed line consisting of Palmieri and Anders Lee. “When three guys are on the same page, play the same way, have the same mindset and the same ideas I feel like things could work really well and it’s been clicking.”

The Islanders knotted the game at 2-all when Pageau pounced on a loose puck in the slot area at 17:47.

“I thought we were doing a lot of good things out there but those first two goals were definitely my fault,” Horvat said. “My teammates stepped up big there. Pageau, Palmieri and that line were unbelievable tonight against that top line. They had our backs, definitely had mine and I’m thankful for that.”

Toropchenko fired a wrist shot past Sorokin for his 11th goal of the season at 1:21 of the second period to open the scoring.

St. Louis doubled its advantage when Brandon Saad stole a puck from Horvat and slid it over to Kyrou for an easy tap-in.

“Obviously not the result we wanted but just try to regroup,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “Points for us are super important, we just have to look forward now. Obviously, take the things that we can from this game and look forward to Jersey.”

UP NEXT

Blues: Visit New Jersey Devils Thursday night.

Islanders: Visit San Jose Sharks Thursday night.

Nick Cousins had two goals and the Florida Panthers beat New Jersey 5-3 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win, spoiling the debut of interim Devils coach Travis Green.

Eetu Luostarinen, Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart also scored as the Panthers won for the 12th time in 13 games. Florida leads the NHL with 43 wins and 90 points, and it is 25-4-2 since Dec. 23.

Anthony Stolarz made 22 saves, giving 35-year-old Sergei Bobrovsky a night off after a big performance in a win over the Rangers on Monday.

Jack Hughes, Timo Meier and Colin Miller scored for the Devils in their first game since general manager Tom Fitzgerald relieved Lindy Ruff of his coaching duties on Monday. The move was made less than a year after Ruff led New Jersey to its best regular-season point total.

New Jersey goaltender Akira Schmid made 26 saves. He relieved Nico Daws in losses to Anaheim and Los Angeles last weekend.

Cousins was the difference. He opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season 2:54 into the first period. He made it 4-2 when he reached back to tip a shot home 5:33 into the third.

Luostarinen had snapped a 2-all tie midway through the second with a shot from the top of the circle that Schmid seemed to miss.

The Devils got off to a slow start. They fell behind 2-0 in the opening 6:30 as Cousins tallied and Rodrigues followed with a power-play goal after Luke Hughes was called for delay of game.

Jack Hughes got the Devils going with a somewhat lucky power-play goal. His shot was tipped past Stolarz by Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling.

Meier tied the game with a great individual play at 11:01 of a second period dominated by New Jersey. The big forward outdueled two Panthers for the puck in front of the net, kicked it to his stick and one-handed it past Stolarz.

A little more than a minute later Luostarinen took a stretch pass from defenseman Dmitry Kulikov at the blue line, cut to the middle and beat Schmid with a shot from top of the right circle for his 11th goal.

Referee Pierre Lambert left the ice for a couple of minutes in the second period after being hit with a deflected shot in the chest area. He returned before the period was over.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday

Devils: Host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday

Alex Laferriere also scored, Cam Talbot made 30 saves, and the Kings have won eight of 12 under interim coach Jim Hiller.

“Obviously, we’re playing way better now,” Fiala said. “Had a two or three month slump or whatever, and we have been playing better after the All-Star break. … We are playing for each other, we love each other, and you can really feel it right now.”

Nico Daws was replaced in the second period after giving up four goals on 13 shots for the Devils, who have lost five of seven. Timo Meier scored, and Akira Schmid made nine saves in relief.

“I don’t think it’s about effort, it’s more between the ears,” New Jersey forward Erik Haula said. “We keep kind of shooting ourselves in the foot, we keep making similar mistakes, and at this time of the year it’s gonna hurt you.”

Aside from an unexpected deflection off the stanchion to help give the Devils an early lead seconds into the game, the Kings delivered one of their most complete performances since Hiller replaced Todd McLellan on Feb. 2.

Danault tied it at 7:56 on a breakaway set up by Fiala’s alert stretch pass, which was the winger’s fourth assist during a three-game streak.

Laferriere, who was born in Chatham, New Jersey, and grew up attending Devils games, fired in his ninth goal of the season with 5:11 left in the first to put Kings up 2-1.

“We talked from the start about getting back to our identity, and I think we’re pretty close right now,” Hiller said.

A longtime nemesis of Los Angeles during his time with the San Jose Sharks, Meier got his 15th goal in 31 career games against them 15 seconds into the game.

Quinton Byfield’s pass in his own zone took an awkward redirection right to Nico Hischier, leading to his fifth assist in three games for setting up Meier.

“We just took a breath, and from that point on we dominated the game,” Fiala said of the Kings’ response.

The Kings kept up the pressure in the second period, with Danault scoring into an open net with 7:37 left and Fiala burying a power-play goal 34 seconds later to send Daws to the bench early.

“We got the start we wanted, came out and scored a goal,” Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said. “You can do a lot of great things in the game, and then you can beat yourself. I thought we beat ourselves.”

Danault, who hadn’t scored at home in the first 27 games of the season, got an empty-netter with 2:13 remaining. It was Danault’s first hat trick for the Kings and second of his career.

“He has done so many good things the whole season, and he deserves it, and today was his day,” Fiala said.

It has been Fiala’s week, picking up three goals and five assists in the three games since leading scorer Adrian Kempe hurt his wrist against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. But Fiala said his increased production has come from focusing on playing a complete game instead of pushing to generate more offense.

“I don’t try to chase the game, which maybe I did a little bit in the start of the year,” he said. “I just try to be calm, patient, and it will come.”

By Dan Greenspan

John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander had goals in regulation for Toronto, which has won nine of its last 10 games. Ilya Samsonov stopped 32 shots.

Vincent Trocheck scored twice, and Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and two assists as the Rangers lost for just the second time in 13 games (11-1-1). Artemi Panarin also had two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves.

After Mika Zibanejad and Marner traded goals in the shootout, Domi put Toronto ahead in the fourth round. Trocheck then hit the post to seal the Maple Leafs’ win.

Ilya Lyubushkin, who took a big hit from hulking New York rookie Matt Rempe late in the second period and didn’t return, suited up for the Maple Leafs following Thursday’s three-team trade that brought the bruising defenseman back to Toronto from Anaheim. The 29-year-old Russian was also with the club for 31 games and a playoff round in 2022.

Toronto forward Calle Jarnkrok returned to the lineup after breaking his knuckle in practice on Jan. 26, while defenseman Timothy Liljegren was also back from a two-game absence with an undisclosed injury.

Tavares snapped a 2-2 tie at 7:17 of the third period when Jarnkrok’s shot hit Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba before ricocheting off the Toronto captain and in for his 18th goal of the season.

The 6-foot-7 Rempe — a combatant in three memorable fights through his first six NHL games — and Toronto’s Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves in a spirited tilt later in the period.

Samsonov made a huge stop on Panarin with less that five minutes remaining in regulation and made an even bigger glove save on Adam Fox moments later.

However, Trocheck it with his second of the night and 22nd overall with 1:07 left when he knocked in a rebound.

New York opened the scoring with 8:27 left in the first when Lafreniere wired a shot off the post and back bar for his 18th.

After plenty of pre-game talk about Rempe and Reaves, the pair were in close quarters later in the period. Reaves, 37, tried to get the 21-year-old forward’s attention in the neutral zone at the end of their shifts, but Rempe skated off to boos from the Scotiabank Arena crowd.

Samsonov stopped Jimmy Vesey on a breakaway later in the period and Trochek ripped a shot off the post on a power play before Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly swept the loose puck to safety.

Toronto tied it 1-1 at 3:54 of the second when Marner slid his 24th under Shesterkin, but Trochek finished off a nice passing play 1:09 later to put the Rangers back ahead.

Nylander tied it again at 8:54 when he floated a shot through traffic that hit former Toronto defenseman Erik Gustafsson’s stick and fooled Shesterkin for his 33rd. That gave the Swede his third 10-game point streak of the season to set a franchise record.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Florida on Monday night.

Maple Leafs: Host Boston on Monday night.

Kyle Palmieri scored three times in the first period for his third career hat trick and the New York Islanders coasted to a 5-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night for their third straight win.

Palmieri, who completed the natural hat trick just 12:19 in, had his first three-goal game with the Islanders and added an assist. Anders Lee had a goal and an assist, Brock Nelson also scored, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bo Horvat each added two assists and Ilya Sorokin finished with 24 saves.

Marc McLaughlin scored the lone goal for Boston and Linus Ullmark made 22 saves as the Bruins fell for the fourth time in five games (1-1-3).

The Islanders took a 1-0 lead when Noah Dobson delivered a beautiful stretch pass to Palmieri, who spun around Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei before sliding the puck between Ullmark’s legs at 3:32.

Palmieri made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 5:27. Bo Horvat’s one-time shot from the slot created a rebound opportunity that the 33-year-old Palmieri capitalized on. Mathew Barzal also assisted.

The Long Island native capped his hat trick when he buried another rebound in the slot. Palmieri left during the second period after taking a check from Parker Wotherspoon, but returned.

Lee extended the Islanders’ lead to 4-0 on the first shift of the second period with was his 16th of the season. It was only the Islanders captain’s third goal since a scoring twice against Winnipeg on Jan. 16.

Nelson put home his own rebound and collected his 28th of the season at 10:24 to make it 5-0.

McLaughlin netted his first goal of the season and spoiled Sorokin’s shutout bid at 14:30 of the second.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

Islanders: Host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

Mathew Barzal had a tiebreaking goal with 6:02 left in the third period and Brock Nelson scored twice, lifting New York to a 5-3 victory Thursday night that ended the Detroit Red Wings’ six-game winning streak.

The Islanders have entered the final period with the lead 26 times this season, and have lost seven of those games.

“Everyone makes a big deal of letting leads go, but it happens when you have leads,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “A one-goal in this league is nothing. Even a two-goal lead in this league is nothing.”

Barzal sent a shot behind goaltender Alex Lyon and banked it into the net to make it 4-3. Patrick Kane had a chance to tie it later in the third, but missed an open net.

In the final minute, Pierre Engvall scored the Islanders’ first empty-net goal of the season.

“It’s been tough just having to grind out those last 30 seconds and not being able to get that exclamation point on a game,” Barzal said.

Nelson broke a scoreless tie midway through the first period and Casey Cizikas scored in the first period to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead.

“When the first goal is a turnover from getting your stick lifted in the slot, we’re not engaged and locked in enough,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde lamented.

Nelson’s second goal broke a tie early in the third period, giving him a team-leading 27 goals, and Ilya Sorokin finished with 23 saves.

Olli Maatta matched a career high with two goals and Kane tied it at 2 on a slick wrist shot 10 seconds into the third.

Lyon stopped 22 shots for the Red Wings, who lost for the first time in two-plus weeks.

Detroit had won six straight for the first time in nearly five years, putting it in the Eastern Conference’s first of two wild-card spots to increase the franchise’s chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

“This is a good idea of what a playoff game is going to look like,” 35-year-old forward David Perron said. “Even in the six-game winning streak, there were some games where we weren’t fully satisfied. We need to add a little bit of consistency of the winning habits we have.”

The Islanders are 6-5-3 since firing Lane Lambert and hiring Roy to linger in the playoff race as one of four teams — joining New Jersey, Washington and Pittsburgh — within 10 points of Detroit and Tampa Bay in the wild-card standings.

New York lost a lead late in the second period of its previous game at Dallas before winning 3-2 in overtime.

“It’s a good road trip,” Roy said. “Dallas is not an easy place to play, and here same thing. They’re fast teams. They move the puck well. I think we can build on that. Now, we’re going home.

“Let’s give our fans some wins. I think they deserve it. They’ve been very patient with us.”

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host Boston on Saturday night.

Red Wings: Host Florida on Saturday.

Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist and Adam Fox also scored as the Rangers won their sixth-straight at home game and 11th in the last 12 games. New York, first in the Eastern Conference, improved to 12-2-1 in the last 15 games — three nights after having a 10-game winning streak snapped at Columbus on Sunday.

Kreider and Panarin scored empty-netters 41 seconds apart in the final minute. Kreider got his 30th – the third-straight season the veteran forward has achieved that milestone – and Panarin increased his career-best total to 35.

New York has 83 points, tied with Vancouver atop the NHL standings through the Canucks have played one more game.

“It’s a great job by the guys,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “We still have work to do. You get to the last quarter before the playoffs and you have to play some hockey that’s good hockey. I think our guys have done that.”

Panarin’s first goal of the night was the 250th of his career, which included two seasons with the Blue Jackets before he signed a seven-year free-agent contract with the Rangers in July 2019.

Cole Sillinger scored for the Blue Jackets and Elvis Merzlikins finished with 26 saves. Columbus, last in the East, has lost five of its last eight. The Blue Jackets had a number of opportunities to tie the contest in the waning minutes but couldn’t beat Shesterkin.

“We played a good game. The scoring chances were pretty much even,” Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said. ”The guys battled to the end.”

After a scoreless first period in which the Rangers outshot the Blue Jackets 17-9, Panarin opened the scoring at 7:17 of the second as he fired the puck past Merzlikins after Vincent Trocheck won a faceoff in the left circle.

Fox made it 2-0 on the power play with 5:41 left in the second, firing the puck past Merzlikins for his 10th. Fox has two goals and eight points in his last seven games and is the first Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch (four times from 2000-04) with three-straight 10-goal seasons.

Sillinger spoiled Shesterkin’s shutout bid with his ninth goal at 3:24 of the third period.

“We had a lot of opportunities to tie the game,” Sillinger said. ”That’s a good team over there.”

Kreider scored into empty net to make it 3-1 with 53 seconds remaining before Panarin completed the scoring with 12 seconds to go. Panarin leads the Rangers with 82 points and has points in 48 of New York’s 60 games this season.

The Rangers finished February with a 10-1-0 record, outscoring opponents 40-22.

Shesterkin won his seventh straight game to improve to 26-12-1 this season.

“Good saves from him as usual,” Panarin said through a translator. “He’s doing good and we’re all proud of him.”

The 28-year-old Russian goaltender has allowed two or fewer goals in 20 of his 26 wins. He hasn’t lost since New York’s previous defeat at home, 5-2 on Jan. 26 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

“We played strong defensively,” Shesterkin said. “We played our game.”

The Rangers are 21-7-0 at Madison Square Garden this season and their 40 victories through 60 games equals the 1972-73 squad for fewest games to reach the 40-win mark in franchise history.

Columbus finished the season series 2-1-1 against the Rangers as their captain Boone Jenner captain played his 700th career game.

Rangers rookie forward Matt Rempe had a relatively uneventful sixth NHL game after having three fights in his first five contests as well as scoring the winning goal at Philadelphia last Saturday. The 6-foot-7 forward did not engage in a rematch bout with Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier. The two exchanged blows during last Sunday’s contest from which the 21-year-old Rempe sustained a black left eye.

Rangers forward Will Cuylle and Dmitri Voronkov of Columbus dropped the gloves for a brief skirmish with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Carolina on Thursday night.

Rangers: At Toronto on Saturday night.

Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko each had a goal and an assist, Ivan Provorov also scored, and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists for Columbus, which had lost three straight at home. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 38 shots as the Blue Jackets won the opener of the teams’ home-and-home set that concludes Wednesday in New York.

“We played a real smart hockey game,” Blue Jackets coach Pascale Vincent said. “Their transition game is so good. They use the full length of the ice in the offensive zone. Our guys were ready.”

Artemi Panarin and Adam Edstrom scored, and Jonathan Quick stopped 37 shots for the Rangers, who lost for the first time since Jan. 26. They still lead the Metropolitan Division with 81 points — seven ahead of second-place Carolina.

“They came at us with a lot of speed,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “They’d get behind us with odd-man rushes. It wasn’t one or two — it was too many — and we couldn’t capitalize at the other end. That was the difference in the game.”

The teams traded goals in the first period, with Voronkov putting Columbus up at 4:35 as he buried a behind-the-net feed from Kirill Marchenko for his 16th goal of the season. He sits third in scoring among NHL rookies behind Connor Bedard and Marco Rossi, who each have 17.

Panarin pulled New York even with a shot from the right circle with 5:38 left for his 33rd, tying Brock Boeser for seventh in the NHL.

Marchenko regained the lead for Columbus just just 18 seconds into the second period, before Edstrom pulled the Rangers even again after a neutral-zone turnover at 11:11.

Roslovic put the Blue Jackets ahead for good 46 seconds later off a tape-to-tape pass from Gaudreau on a rush, and Provorov made it 4-2 with his first goal since Jan. 13 with 1:25 left in the middle period.

“Personally, I don’t think the first was all that great, but we stepped up in the second and did the job tonight,” Roslovic said. “You’ve got to tip your hats to Elvis at the end. Huge win — snaps a team’s 10 game winning streak and finish out the game in the third.”

By Nicole Kraft

Following a three-point game Saturday in a win over the New York Islanders, Kucherov had a goal and three assists and became the first player in the league to reach 100 points this season in leading Tampa Bay to a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.

“He’s a special, special player and it was never more evident than tonight,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “It was fun to watch.”

Kucherov leads the NHL with 102 points. Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel were the recipients of Kucherov’s 62nd, 63rd and 64th assists of the season and he added his 38th goal late into an empty net. Jonas Johansson made 18 saves in giving Andrei Vasilevskiy a rare day off.

“We all understand where we’re at and this is crunch time and we need to play that way every single night if we want to get to where we want to get to and that’s the playoffs,” Hagel said. “So if we continue that I have no worry in the world.”

The Devils and coach Lindy Ruff have concerns with 24 games left in the regular season. They have been inconsistent in an injury-filled season and fans started chanting for Ruff to be fired late in the game. They also did it early last season and New Jersey went on a run en route to setting a franchise record for points.

“I take full responsibility. I take full responsibility,” said Ruff, who got a new contract earlier this season. “You know, we want to win and we’ve dealt with a lot. Players want to win. I’m responsible for the wins and losses and who gets on the ice and who doesn’t get on the ice.”

Tyler Toffoli scored his 25th goal of the season for the Devils, who are 2-9-1 in the second half of back-to-back games. Akira Schmid, who was making his first start since Dec. 21, had 23 saves, but he and the Devils were no match for the Lightning’s top line of Point, Hagel and Kucherov.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Kucherov needed only 4:15 to stake the Lightning to a 2-0 lead, setting up Hedman’s 10th of the season and Point’s 30th.

Hedman gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 1:27, putting in the rebound of Kucherov’s shot. Hagel got an assist on the play, extending his career-long point streak to 13 games, tied for third longest in franchise history.

Point extended the lead a little less than three minutes later on bad-angle shot after being sent in alone on Schmid. The Devils goaltender didn’t give Point a shot, but the center skated around him and then banged the puck off his leg on a shot from below the goal line. It was his fifth goal in six games.

The Devils, who edged Montreal on Saturday, answered with a power-play goal by Toffoli at 6:01. Jack Hughes’ pass hit the skate of Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh and went right to Toffoli for a shot into an open net.

Kucherov now has two straight 100-point seasons and four overall.

“He wants to win another Stanley Cup,” Hagel said. “And the way he plays, the work ethic, the forecheck, shows you right there why he’s doing what he’s doing.”

The Lightning won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2020 and ’21.

By Tom Canavan