Blues post eighth consecutive win

NEW YORK -- While the St. Louis Blues keep finding ways to win, the New York Rangers are letting games slip away night after night.

Scott Mellanby scored a goal and added an assist, and Doug Weight had two assists Sunday to lead the Blues to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers.

Weight has 14 points in the last seven games for the Blues, who got 23 saves from Fred Brathwaite. St. Louis extended its winning streak to eight games and is unbeaten in nine. New York is 2-6 in its last eight games.

"Freddy's playing great," Weight said. "We've won with four different goalies so far and that's a good indication of how we're playing together as a team. We're finding ways to win."

The Rangers, on the other hand, are struggling and have been hurt time and again following penalties taken by Eric Lindros. Lindros was in the box for high-sticking when Mellanby scored the winner.

Mellanby intercepted a clearing attempt at the left circle and beat Mike Richter to the stick side at 6:03 of the third period for his third goal of the season.

Lindros, who saw limited ice time after a penalty Saturday led to a loss in Boston, was benched the rest of the way.

"Hockey is a contact sport," Lindros said. "I understand what they're trying to do, but it's tough to play the game this way."

Brian Leetch lifted New York into a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 17:21 of the second period. Leetch pounced on the rebound of Ronald Petrovicky's shot and backhanded it into the top corner for his first goal of the season.

"We're certainly disappointed with not having more victories and not being able to win some of these tough games," Leetch said.

Martin Rucinsky scored his second goal of the season during a 5-on-3 power play to give St. Louis a 2-1 first-period lead.

Rucinsky, Mellanby and Weight engaged in a nifty exchange of passes as they collapsed New York's defense. Rucinsky was able to chip in the puck after a final pass left him staring at an empty net at 17:40.

"We were fortunate to come out of the first period up 2-1," St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville said. "We certainly didn't control the play, and even after two we were 2-2 and we knew we had a chance.

"I didn't think we skated very well tonight but we played smart enough to keep ourselves in play."