NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers first game after they secured a playoff berth went a lot smoother than the two before they got in. Jimmie Ward Jersey . Brad Richards scored twice on New Yorks previously anemic power play, Martin St. Louis had three assists in his best game since joining the Rangers last month, and Henrik Lundqvist kept the Carolina Hurricanes at bay in a 4-1 victory on Tuesday night. The Rangers qualified for the playoffs on Monday when New Jersey lost. New York was 0-1-1 in its previous two games after a 7-1 spurt vaulted them to second place in the Metropolitan Division. If the Rangers, who have two games left, hold off Philadelphia and Columbus they will have home-ice advantage against one of those teams in the first round. "You want to get good habits, and you want to play the game you want to play next week," said Lundqvist, who made 27 saves. "You cant take any shortcuts. You need to focus the same way and take each game as an important game. "Who knows? It can play a huge part in the end." Philadelphia and Columbus, third and fourth respectively in the Metropolitan, also won Tuesday. Philadelphia trails New York by two points, and Columbus is four points behind. Those clubs both have three games remaining. "We talked before the game that we have been playing good hockey for a long time, and we want to go into the playoffs feeling good about our game," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "For the most part, thats what we did." Richards scored in the first period to tie it and then stretched New Yorks lead to two goals in the second with his 20th of the season -- the 10th time he has reached the mark in the NHL. Benoit Pouliot and Derek Stepan also scored as the Rangers beat the Hurricanes for the 11th time in 12 games. Patrick Dwyer scored for Carolina, and Cam Ward made 32 saves in just his second start in seven games. The Hurricanes are out of the playoff picture. "I thought three of the four goals that they scored were too easy," Ward said. "It was almost like we gave them to them." Lundqvist kept the Rangers in the game during the first when each team had 10 shots and numerous scoring chances. Carolina connected 3:22 in, after Ward made a big save. The Hurricanes dug the puck out of the corner to Lundqvists left, and Brett Bellemore brought it behind the Rangers net. He spotted Dwyer in front and fed a quick pass to him for his eighth goal. Lundqvist was sharp the rest of the way, turning aside Alexander Semins slow breakaway with 8 minutes left, catching Jeff Skinners hard shot from the right circle after he knocked the puck up in the air with his glove with 6:33 remaining, and a shot and rebound in tight by defenceman Jay Harrison. That allowed the Rangers to get even on Richards first. Just 9 seconds after Semin went off for hooking, Richards took a pass in the left circle from St. Louis, paused for a moment, and then slapped a shot past Ward with 4:16 to go in the first. New York had scored just four goals on its previous 47 power plays over 15 games. The Rangers nearly went in front with 1:39 left in the period, but Mats Zuccarello banged the puck off the right post at the goal line, and then had the carom stopped by Harrison at the left post. However, they wasted little time in grabbing the lead just 50 seconds into the middle period, making it 2-1 on Pouliots 14th goal. "We just werent ready to go in the second period," Ward said. "The puck dropped and they immediately attacked us." Zuccarello wound up for a big drive in the high slot, but instead of shooting the puck he slapped a pass to Pouliot, who cut in on left wing and scored. The Rangers pushed the lead to 3-1 and made it 2 for 2 on the power play when Richards -- in the middle of a triangle passing play with St. Louis and Dan Girardi -- took a feed from Girardi and slapped another drive that eluded Ward with 6:24 left in the second. "The turning point was getting scored on the first shift of the second period," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. "We just had a tough time getting things going after that." Stepan finished the scoring 4:38 into the third when he steered a pass from St. Louis in at the left post for his 17th goal. St. Louis had just one goal and three assists before Tuesday in 17 games since joining the Rangers. "I definitely have felt a lot better the past six or seven games," St. Louis said. "Its nice to get rewarded on so many plays. Just keep looking to build it up and keep getting better." NOTES: Injured Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonagh (shoulder) and forward Chris Kreider (hand) both participated in the morning skate, but sat out the game. It isnt known if either will play in New Yorks final two regular-season games. ... It was Dwyers first goal in 10 games. Weston Richburg Jersey . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds. Mike McGlinchey Jersey . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out.PHILADELPHIA -- This was more like last years Eagles. Nick Foles threw one touchdown pass and led Philadelphias starting offence to three first-half scores in a 31-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. "I feel were improving every week," Foles said. "We have to keep moving forward." Steelers running backs LeVeon Bell and LeGarrette Blount both played one day after they were arrested for marijuana possession shortly before Pittsburgh (1-2) travelled to Philadelphia (1-2). "Im sorry to be a distraction to the team but Im only going to answer football questions now," Bell said. Blount also would only answer football questions. "I just want to apologize to my team, to the coach and the organization for causing that distraction," he said. Eagles All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy left the game with a right thumb injury after a 22-yard TD catch gave Philadelphia a 7-0 lead. X-rays on McCoys thumb were negative, but he didnt return. McCoy showed no effects of a toe injury that forced him to miss one practice earlier in the week. "Its no big deal," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. The Eagles first-team offence had only one touchdown on six drives in road losses to Chicago and New England. But they looked more like the unit that set several franchise records in 2013. "We have a lot we can improve on," Foles said. "Its important not to get complacent." Foles was 19 of 29 for 179 yards and threw one interception. He led the offence to 17 points and 251 total yards before giving way to Mark Sanchez in the third quarter. Starting wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper played their first game together, combining for nine catches for 68 yards. The Steelers couldnt get going against Philadelphias first-team defence. Ben Roethlisberger tossed a 27-yard TD pass to Heath Miller in the third quarter against the backups. "Were not worried about it. Its preseason," Blount said. Roethlisberger finished 15 of 24 for 157 yards, one TD and one interception. Bell had nine carries for 23 yards and Blount ran seven times for 32 yarrds. San Francisco 49ers Jerseys. Rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier had six tackles after an impressive debut last week against the Bills. The Steelers werent happy with their defensive effort. "Im just ticked," end Cameron Heyward said. "We all have to look at each other in the mirror. Were not going to settle for anything less. We know when we put on this jersey, it represents a lot. We might not be the same players but we have to step up, make plays and focus." Foles got the offence rolling on the second possession. He connected with Maclin for 7 yards on third-and-5 and then hit Brent Celek for a 23-yard catch-and-run. A holding call on William Gay kept the drive alive when Foles threw incomplete on third down. Foles then tossed a screen pass to McCoy on third-and-10 from the Steelers 22. McCoy did the rest, following a takeout block by Todd Herremans into the end zone. Foles completed seven straight passes after misfiring on six of his first 10 throws. He was 6 for 6 for 56 yards on the third drive, which ended with Darren Sproles running in from the 1 for a 14-0 lead. Foles threw his third interception of the preseason when Troy Polamalu picked off a pass in the second quarter. The Pro Bowl MVP quarterback threw only two interceptions on 350 pass attempts last year, including the playoffs. He had 27 TD passes in the regular season, setting an NFL record for best TD/interception ratio. Matthew Tucker had a pair of 1-yard TD runs for the Eagles in the second half. Pittsburghs Bruce Gradkowski threw a 33-yard TD pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey and a 3-yard TD pass to Martavis Bryant in the fourth quarter. NOTES: Sanchez was 7 of 9 for 85 yards. ... Gradkowski was 8 of 11 for 105 yards and two TDs. ... Steelers K Shaun Suisham missed a 46-yarder wide left. ... Eagles K Alex Henery made a 36-yarder, but missed from 31. "Obviously, you have to make a field goal like that," Kelly said. ... Rookie K Cody Parkey, acquired from Indianapolis on Wednesday night, made an extra point and had a couple long kickoffs. ... 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