"The Rangers have five days to make a trade before the NHL deadline. The one they made in January paid big dividends Tuesday night.

Wojtek Wolski scored with 1:50 left in the third period to tie the game, then lifted the Rangers to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes with the only goal of the tiebreaker.

It was shaping up as a grim night for the Blueshirts after Jussi Jokinen scored twice in a span of 2:38 early in the third period to give Carolina a 3-2 lead, and All-Star defenseman Marc Staal left with a twisted knee.

Instead, the Rangers won for the third time in the last five games, extending their margin in the Eastern Conference playoff race to three points over eighth-place Carolina, and eight over ninth-place Buffalo.

"If we keep to this style of play and keep banging away, we're gonna get goals," said Ryan Callahan, whose sixth goal in 10 games since returning from a broken hand gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the second period after Brandon Prust and Jay Harrison traded tallies in the first. "This lifts the guys up and lets them know that if we keep at it, we're gonna be fine."

Cam Ward made 43 saves for the Hurricanes and was looking like a sure thing to close out the victory until a dazzling skating move by Wolski to get around Tuomo Ruutu in the high slot and freeze Harrison, a defenseman. As Wolski fired toward the far post, the puck hit Harrison's stick and deflected past Ward to silence the crowd of 17,932."