In moving Gomez, the Rangers clear major space on the salary cap since he is due to make $7.4 million next year, while Higgins only made$1.9 million and is a restricted free agent. Yet, general manager Glen Sather managed to get the talented Smithtown native back in the trade.

Higgins, 26, has skated in 282 regular season contests with Montreal, recording 84 goals and 67 assists for 151 points, along with 96 penalty minutes.  The 6-0, 205-pounder has eclipsed the 20-goal mark three times.  In 2007-08, he established career-highs in games played (82), goals (27), assists (25), points (52), power play goals (12), game-winning goals (five), and shots (241).  He led Montreal in shots, tied for second on the team in power play goals and game-winning goals, and ranked third in goals.  He was also one of only three Canadiens to skate in all 82 games during the season.  Higgins registered 11 points (six goals and five assists) in the first 13 games of the season, and went on to surpass the 20-goal plateau for the third straight year.

And the Rangers shed Gomez, whose contract was becoming an albatross. After signing back in 2007, the former New Jersey Devil was supposed to the answer for Jaromir Jagr, but never could jell with the Hall of Fame right wing. He bounced around looking for the right combination, but it never seemed to work like it did back in New Jersey.

He now becomes the latest ex-New Jersey Devil to become a Rangers’ failure.

The move also signals a busy day tomorrow for Sather as free agency opens. Now with cap space, Sather will look for a sniper, while also remolding the team in Tortorella’s image.

The win kept the Wolf Pack (25-18-2-3, 55 points) tied with Providence for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Artem Anisimov had two assists for the Wolf Pack, and Marty Murray tallied a pair of goals for Manchester.

Manchester drew two penalties from the Wolf Pack in the first 2:33 of the game, and the Monarchs connected on the first of those two man-advantages.  Murray deflected Scott Parse’s shot past Zaba at 1:51, after Teddy Purcell found Parse in the left circle with a cross-slot pass.

The Wolf Pack tied the score at 5:36 of the second frame, with Dale Weise getting his fourth goal of the season, and his first since November 23rd.  Patrick Rissmiller set Weise up with a pass to the right-wing side of the crease.  Murray got his second of the game to put Manchester back in front at 10:39, off of a goalmouth scramble.  Zaba stopped Purcell’s shot, but both Murray and Matt Moulson crashed the net, and Murray poked the puck in.

Bobby Sanguinetti tied the game again in a four-on-four situation at 16:17, driving a Parenteau pass into the net on the stick side of Monarch netminder Jonathan Bernier.

The Wolf Pack would only manage two shots in the decisive third period, but would score two goals.  Parenteau fired in a pass from Anisimov for his 20th of the season at 8:52, and then Parenteau set up Tom Pyatt for what turned out to be the winner on a two-on-one at 16:35.  Parse created the final margin with a sixth-attacker goal with 1:16 left, but the Monarchs could not get anything further past Zaba.