Rangers burn Predators in third, win in OT shootout

2010-11 Game No. 25; Road Game No. 13		Rangers' Record: 14-10-1
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
• Full Highlights | Tortorella Postgame		• View Complete Shootout Replay

GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com A weary group of Rangers, playing their third road game in four nights and ninth overall in the past 14 days, trudged into Nashville on Saturday night expecting a boost to their lineup with the return of veteran Michal Rozsival after a nine-game injury absence. While Rozsival’s fresh legs did provide a tired team a lift, the Rangers’ depth was further stretched when Marian Gaborik was unable to play due to the flu, causing head coach John Tortorella to dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards for the first time this season. Despite their imperfect situation, the Rangers battled the Predators all night before eventually securing a huge 2-1 victory, in a game decided by the shootout, at Bridgestone Arena. “We talked about it in our (pregame) meeting that if we want to get to where we want to be at the end of the year, this is the kind of game -- last of a road trip, coming off a big win, played a lot of games in this stretch here -- we have to find a way to win,” said Tortorella. “These are the points at the end of the year that kill you if you don’t get them. It was a good gut-check for us in getting points that we needed to get.” Erik Christensen scored the only goal of the shootout, beating Pekka Rinne with a great deke and forehand score. And Henrik Lundqvist stopped all three Predators shots in the shootout, including a glove save on Martin Erat’s last-ditch attempt in the third round, to secure the win, their seventh in the last 10 games. “We took the pre-game message to heart, I thought,” said   ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Rangers are now 6-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season having outscored opponents 18-6 and are 5-0-0 when the second game is on the road. Over the last two seasons, they are 10-1-1 mark on the road in the second of back-to-backs. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. H. Lundqvist 2. Christensen 3. B. Dubinsky

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THE BIGGER PICTURE In 2009-10, the Rangers did not win a game they trailed after two periods until Game No. 78 of an 82-game regular season. This time around, they have already done it in Game No. 25 -- and without Marian Gaborik. That really says something about the overall team.

RANGERS LEADERS Time on Ice -- Staal (27:47) Shots -- Gilroy (3) Hits -- Prust, Avery (4) Blocks -- Girardi (5) Takeaways -- Dubinsky, Stepan (2) Faceoffs Taken -- Christensen (18)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT NASHVILLE
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Brandon Dubinsky	Artem Anisimov	Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery	Derek Stepan	Ruslan Fedotenko
Alex Frolov	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Todd White	Erik Christensen	Matt Gilroy

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto	Dan Girardi
Steve Eminger	Michael Sauer
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, Staal, Rozsival, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Callahan.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Ruslan Fedotenko	Erik Christensen	Ryan Callahan
Alex Frolov	Derek Stepan	Brandon Dubinsky

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Michael Del Zotto	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Michal Rozsival

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
Forward	Forward
FORWARD UNITS
Ryan Callahan	Brandon Dubinsky
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Artem Anisimov	Derek Stepan

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Steve Eminger	Michael Sauer