NEW YORK -- Initially, New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault wasnt pleased with Derek Stepan and his linemates. By the end of the night, Vigneaults assessment of his top line had changed dramatically. Derek Stepan scored his first three goals of the season, and Carl Hagelin added his first two as the Rangers had their best offensive output of the season Saturday night in a 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. "It didnt start the way I wanted, not just the game but (Stepans) line. Their first three shifts were totally in our end," Vigneault said. "I mustve sat that line out eight, nine minutes of the first period." The trio of Stepan, Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider finished with three goals and six assists, and a combined rating of plus-7. "I like the way they responded," Vigneault said. "Challenged them, and they responded the right way. They went out onto the ice and had some solid puck possession shifts. "That line ended up being real good for us at the end of the night after having a so-so start." Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves and grabbed first star honours for New York (6-7), which is on a season-high, three-game winning streak. Hagelin scored the Rangers first two goals of the game, and Stepan netted the final three. Andrej Sekera scored a power-play goal with 37 seconds left in the second period to provide the only offence for the Hurricanes. Justin Peters, subbing for Carolinas top two goalies who are injured, made 33 saves in the loss and fell to 0-5. "Weve been chasing the game lately, and were not getting the timely saves," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. Hagelin opened the scoring 8:46 into the game. Brad Richards sprung Hagelin and Benoit Pouliot with a clearing pass. Hagelin cut to the slot before beating Peters with a backhander. "Hags speed definitely helps us," Vigneault said. "When he scored the way he did tonight and backing down their defence the way he can does, its so important to a team having success and winning games." Before Hagelins goal, the Hurricanes had outshot the Rangers 6-2. New York finished the game with a 38-28 edge. Hagelin increased New Yorks lead to 2-0 at 8:16 of the second period. As the Rangers finished killing Hagelins hooking penalty, Taylor Pyatt fired a clearing pass from the defensive zone that ricocheted off of Peters pads to the corner. Hagelin corralled the loose puck, then cut toward the net before slipping his second goal of the game through Peters legs. "I was going on the forecheck," Hagelin said. "It wasnt like I (thought) it was going to bounce off him and go in the corner. Soon as I saw the puck go in the corner I knew he wasnt going to go there, so I decided to take it to the net." Stepan pushed the advantage to 3-0 with a power-play goal at 15:54 of the second. Stepan found a rebound of Ryan McDonaghs point shot through a maze of players before beating Peters with a high shot. New York, which went 1-for-4 on the advantage, has scored power-play goals in three straight games. The Rangers are 4-for-11 on the power play in that stretch. "Goals on the power play, thats going to help a power play," Stepan said. "Weve certainly simplified things. Our power-play goal was a play out of the corner. Mac takes a slapper, and a mad scramble in front. If you look around the league, thats how the power-play goals are being scored." Outside of Sekeras goal, not much went right for the Hurricanes (4-7-3), who have lost five straight. "We were a fragile team (after) giving up the first goal," Muller said. "It seems to be a pattern. It pushes you back on your heels a bit after that first goal." Sekera scored with a seemingly harmless shot that hit Rangers defenceman Anton Stralman and found its way past Lundqvist. Stepan scored his second of the game 9:09 into the third to complete a strong forechecking sequence by his line. Kreiders hit on Tuomo Ruutu in the offensive zone forced a turnover, which Zuccarello corralled behind the net before feeding Stepan. Stepan completed his hat trick at 14:37 when his attempted pass to Kreider hit Sekera and deflected in off the goal post. It was Stepans first three-goal game since Oct. 9, 2010, against Buffalo, where he made his NHL debut. "My two linemates have created pretty good looks for me, and I wasnt able to find the back of the net," Stepan said. "Tonight they continued to do it, and I was fortunate enough to find the net a couple times, so thats good." NOTES: New York is 63-48-7-2 against the Hurricanes. ... Carolina activated D Brett Bellemore from the injured list. Bellemore had missed three games with a lower-body injury. ... Vigneault said he had "mixed emotions and mixed feelings," about Manny Malhotras return to the NHL. The veteran centre signed a one-year deal with Carolina on Thursday. Vigneault was Malhotras coach with Vancouver when Malhotra was struck near the left eye in a 2011 game. ... Rangers LW Rick Nash missed his 10th straight game with a head injury. There is no timetable for his return. Justin Williams . Seriously. Seven years of losing has brought many different faces, players and management, to the annual pre-season get-to-know-the-team round up. Vada Pinson .5 million, two-year contract that runs through 2015. Venable, the son of former big leaguer Max Venable, will make $4. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-andrew-knizner-jersey-large-1071q.html . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. Jack Buck .C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. Edmundo Sosa . So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence.Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Harden scored a season-high 44 points to lead the Rockets in a 113-109 decision over the Sacramento Kings. Harden, who scored 34 points in a loss to Golden State on Wednesday, sent the game to overtime with a deep 3-pointer, then scored the first 10 Houston points in the extra session. That was definitely a tough game. Those guys on the other side definitely fought hard. We had the same energy, Harden said. We fought through it. Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley each netted 15 points and Donatas Motiejunas added 14 points for Houston, which has won five of its last six. Darren Collison had 24 points with seven assists and Ben McLemore tallied 21 points for the Kings. Harden fueled the Rockets comeback in regulation and continued in the extra session as he opened with seven straight points to give the Rockets a 102-95 lead with 3 1/2 minutes to play. The Houston offense ran through Harden in the overtime period. He slashed through the lane for a layup following a free throw from Jason Thompson, then split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to nine. (Harden) made shots when he needed to, Kings forward Gay said. He played great. Gay trimmed the deficit to six with a 3-pointer, but Harden drove on two defenders and skipped a pass over to Beverley, who nailed a corner 3 with 45.3 seconds left. Beverley missed 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch that allowed the Kings to hang around as Nik Stauskas trey made it a three-point game. Collison buried a 3 following a pair of free throws from Jason Terry, but Harden closed his evening with two free throws to account for the final margin.dddddddddddd The Rockets trailed by as many as 10 in the fourth. Harden tied the game at 88-88 with a tough dunk through traffic with 2 1/2 minutes left. Each team traded a basket before Gay drove and kicked out to an open Derrick Williams, who hit a 3-pointer to make it a 93-90 game. Motiejunas was whistled for his sixth foul at the other end, which allowed Thompson to make a pair of free throws and stretch it to a two-possession game. Houston trailed by three when Harden tossed up a high-arching trey that hit nothing but cotton to tie the game at 95-95 with 20.5 seconds on the clock. Gays jumper from just inside the arc rattled out on Sacramentos final chance in regulation. The Rockets grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with under a second left, but Hardens final effort was long. Sacramento led 46-36 at the half. Houston opened the third quarter on a 10-3 run to close the gap to 49-46 just 2 1/2 minutes in. Later in the quarter, Beverley nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two, 55-53, then the Kings ripped off 10 straight as a McLemore dunk off a feed from Collison highlighted the surge. Harden scored the final four points of the third to cut it to 69-61 entering the fourth. Game Notes Houston has won four straight over the Kings ... Sacramento has lost two straight overall ... Williams scored 17 points off the bench in the setback ... Joey Dorsey had a career-high five steals in the win ... Houston went 15- of-44 from beyond the arc ... The Rockets scored 27 points off turnovers, while the Kings netted 20 off turnovers ... Thompson finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds for Sacramento. ' ' '