Rangers 4, Hurricanes 1: Brad Richards scored a pair of power-play goals and Martin St. Louis notched three assists as New York defeated Carolina for the sixth consecutive time at Madison Square Garden.

Derek Stepan collected a goal and an assist, Benoit Pouliot also tallied and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 27 saves as the Rangers remained two points ahead of third-place Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers, who have a game in hand, posted a 5-2 win over Florida on Tuesday.

Patrick Dwyer scored and Cam Ward turned aside 32 shots for the Hurricanes, who were officially eliminated from postseason contention for the fifth straight season.

New York claimed a 2-1 lead just 50 seconds into the middle session as Mats Zuccarello faked a shot from the high slot before feeding a cutting Pouliot, who redirected the puck into the gaping net from deep in the left circle. Richards doubled the advantage with a blast from well above the circles at 13:36 for his second goal of the contest and 20th of the season.

Carolina drew first blood 3:22 into the contest as Brett Bellemore bounced a centering feed off the apron of the goal and into the slot for Dwyer, who beat Lundqvist over his right shoulder. Richards answered nine seconds into the power play as he found himself unmarked in the left circle and beat Ward inside the near post at 15:44 of the first period.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pouliot has collected two goals and four assists on his six-game point streak and Zuccarello has scored four goals and set up four others during his five-game point streak. ... The Rangers recorded two power-play goals in a game for the first time since Feb. 7 versus Pittsburgh. ... Henry and Linda Staal were in attendance at Madison Square Garden, watching sons Eric and Jordan play for Carolina and Marc for New York. ... Tennis legend John McEnroe was also in attendance.