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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. Alec Georgen Jersey . DETROIT LIONS AT CHICAGO BEARS, 1:00 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Mohammed Seisay, DE Larry Webster Chicago - S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, QB David Fales, K Robbie Gould, CB Terrance Mitchell, OT Michael Ola, DE Trevor Scott GREEN BAY PACKERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo, QB Scott Tolzien Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, FB/TE Evan Rodriguez, LB Lawrence Sidbury KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL Eric Kush, QB Aaron Murray, RB Charcandrick West, DT Nick Williams Pittsburgh - WR Justin Brown, DE Clifton Geathers, G Chris Hubbard, QB Landry Jones, S Troy Polamalu, TE Matt Spaeth, CB Ike Taylor MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Minnesota - LB Anthony Barr, OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, OT Charlie Johnson, FB Zach Line, CB Shaun Prater, TE Kyle Rudolph Miami - G Nate Garner, WR Matt Hazel, S Don Jones, WR Rishard Matthews, LB Chris McCain, G Dallas Thomas, RB Daniel Thomas NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW YORK JETS, 1:00 PM (ET) New England - CB Kyle Arrington, RB LeGarrette Blount, OL Dan Connolly, CB Alfonzo Dennard, OT Jordan Devey, WR Julian Edelman, RB James White NY Jets - DT T. Azzeddine Toufiqui Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. http://www.parissaintgermainfcstore.com/Women-Colin-Dagba-Paris-Saint-Germain-Jersey/ . - Kevin Labanc and Joseph Blandisi were a potent combination for the Barrie Colts on Friday night. Julian Draxler Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . - Mark Sanchez found out the New York Jets had acquired Tim Tebow on a conference call with team management. Gianluigi Buffon Jersey . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox. HOUSTON -- Collin McHugh has earned his spot in the Astros rotation. McHugh allowed two hits over 8 2-3 stellar innings as the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Sunday. McHugh (2-0), who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 22 to make a start after Scott Feldman had been placed on the disabled list, followed up his first outing where he struck out 12 and allowed three hits in 6 2-3 innings at Seattle on Tuesday with another dominant performance. "When we sent him out there in the ninth it was with the complete hope that he was going to be able to finish what he started," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "That was tremendous. Attacking the strike zone with all three of his pitches and to pitch that well against a really good hitting Oakland As lineup speaks volumes to Collin and the way he and (Carlos) Corporan worked today." McHugh struck out seven and walked three, allowing one run in the longest outing of his career. His previous longest outing had been seven innings on Aug. 23, 2012, against Colorado when he was a member of the New York Mets. "I actually wasnt even thinking about the hits," McHugh said. "I was more mad about the walks. I walked a couple guys early, and with this team, you cant really give them free base runners because anyone in that lineup can do damage to you. As I kind of got momentum, I started to roll with it, and it got easier to make pitches and kind of feel the flow and go with it." After the first, McHugh retired 23 of the next 24 batters, including 19 straight before Brandon Moss was hit by a pitch with two outs in the ninth. Moss stole second and came around to score on Alberto Callaspos single -- McHughs first run allowed in 15 1-3 innings this season. Porter said McHugh has "earned his keep". "I dont think he put us in a tough spot; I think he put himself in a really good spot," Porter said. "Performance pretty much speaks for itself. This guy has earned the right to get the ball the next turn." McHugh said he hadnt had a lot of consistent starts in his career, so to know he would get the ball again in five days felt nice. He became the first pitcher in Astros history go 6 2-3 innings or more while allowing one run or less with seven or more strikeouts in each of his first two starts as an Astro.dddddddddddd Raul Valdes got the final out to complete the two hitter. Jed Lowrie, who singled in the first inning, drew a walk in the third for McHughs lone base runner until the ninth. "He had a great cutter early on and was a little bit harder with his stuff early on," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said of McHugh. "Then coming back later in the game he mixed in his curveball better and his change-up. He really did keep us off balance." The right-hander, who Houston claimed off waivers from Colorado during the off-season, got out of trouble in the first after loading the bases with two outs with a walk to Callaspo by getting Josh Reddick to pop out to end the inning. Jose Altuve had two hits, including a two-run home run in the seventh, and Jonathan Villar also had two hits, including a two-run triple. Tommy Milone (0-2) allowed four runs on five hits with two strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander was just effective for most of the day, retiring 12 out of 13, including nine in a row, but he ran into trouble in the seventh. Villar extended the lead to 3-0 with a two-out, two-run triple to the left centerfield gap in the seventh, scoring Matt Dominguez and Carlos Corporan and ending Milones day. Altuve greeted Dan Otero with a two-run home run to the Crawford Boxes in left to up the lead to 5-0. Dexter Fowler gave the Astros a 1-0 lead in the third with a groundout scoring Villar, who had doubled with one out and reached third on an Altuve single. NOTES: Oakland outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was out of the lineup for the third straight game with a strained left hamstring. Cespedes left in the seventh inning of Oaklands 10-1 win over Houston on Thursday after legging out an infield single. ... Feldman, who has been on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 18 with right bicep tendinitis, threw Saturday and was fine and was on track to make his next scheduled start, manager Bo Porter said, adding that could be either May 3 or May 4. Feldman is eligible to come off the DL May 3. ' ' '