Jagr also is trying to stay on top in the scoring race. He followed the assist on Prucha's goal by setting up all three of Martin Straka's goals for a four-point night. That gave him 113 points, seven more than San Jose's Joe Thornton, who had two games in hand.

No Ranger has won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer for more than six decades. Bryan Hextall (56 points in 48 games) was the last -- in 1941-42. Jagr has five scoring titles, more than the entire Ranger franchise has managed in eight decades.

Jagr also is the front-runner in the race for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player, an award he also won in 1998-99 while with Pittsburgh.

The Rangers fans in the Coliseum crowd left no doubt where their sentiments were. Every time Jagr stepped on the ice in the last two periods, he was serenaded with chants of "M-V-P" -- something coach Tom Renney said was a funny thing to hear at the home of the Rangers' biggest rivals. "It was really quite amazing," he added. "And it's legitimate. He's a special player."

No Ranger has won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer for more than six decades, will Jaromir Jagr change that?

The Islanders won't argue that point. Jagr entered the season with 106 points against the Isles, more than against any other team, and he's continued to torture them this season. The four assists gave him 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in the teams' first six meetings. They place twice more at Madison Square Garden in April.

"Without question, he's the MVP," said Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro, who's been in the net for all six games. "Every time he gets the puck on his stick, he makes a good play. He's tough to defend."

"He's a special hockey player," added Islanders interim coach Brad Shaw. "Early in his career, he looked like this. I don't know what happened in a few of his middle years, but certainly this year, he's found the love of the game again. We stood around and watched him make a lot of plays. We gave him too much respect and too much room."

It looked like Jagr might have broken Graves' record midway through the second period when he bulled his way into the slot and fired a shot that wound up in the net. The Rangers fans in the crowd went wild, but Jagr knew that the goal was Straka's, not his.

"I knew right away," he said, then added with a smile, "Marty never goes to the net -- and finally he does. First time he went to the net."

Jagr had another chance when he took a breakaway pass and went in alone midway through the third period, only to be denied by DiPietro.

"It wasn't a good shot," Jagr said. "I thought someone was coming up behind me and I rushed it. I'd like to have that one back."

The goals record could fall Thursday night in Ottawa. For now, Jagr is content to settle for topping Ratelle's mark. He has his sights on finishing ahead of the Flyers and winning the division title.

"I knew that with 10 games to go, I should be able to get the record as long as nothing happened to me," he said of the scoring record. "It's an honor when you consider all the people who've played here for the Rangers organization. We got one game ahead with the win here, but I think [the race] is going to come down to the last games where we face each other -- one at home and one in Philadelphia."