Gaborik, linemates work magic in wild win over Isles

2010-11 Game No. 27; Road Game No. 14		Rangers' Record: 15-11-1
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GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com The Rangers’ wildly exciting 6-5 victory over the Islanders on Thursday night at the Nassau Coliseum may not have gone exactly to plan for Blueshirts head coach John Tortorella. But considering  that the Rangers had the best player -- by far -- on the ice, the team was able to improvise on its original script in order to secure two important points in the opener of a home-and-home set that concludes Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Marian Gaborik played a monster game for the Rangers, scoring three goals, adding an assist, and firing eight shots on goal while logging more than 20 minutes worth of ice time. He also scored the game-winning goal just 25 seconds after the surging Islanders had tied the game 5-5 late in the third period. “Hockey is a game about momentum changes,” said Erik Christensen, who scored the game’s first goal and assisted on the game-winner while playing on the same line with Gaborik. “In the end, they were able to bury a few, but we had Gaby.” With the Islanders having just erased a 5-3 deficit by scoring twice in a span of 1:41, Gaborik made the game’s ultimate defining statement by beating Islanders defenseman James Wisniewski to a rebound of Christensen’s shot and whipping it past goalie Rick DiPietro with 5:25 remaining in the third period to put the Rangers back in front 6-5. The goal -- Gaborik’s third of the night and eighth in 14 games this season -- gave the Slovak sniper his second hat trick of the season, third as a Ranger, and 12th of his National Hockey League career. It also marked Gaborik’s first game-winning  ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Blueshirts have been perfect this season with a remarkable 12-0-0 record when leading the game after two periods. In addition, they are now 13-4-1 when scoring the game's first goal and now have 10 road victories -- the most road wins in the entire NHL. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. M. Gaborik 2. Sean Avery 3. Christensen

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THE BIGGER PICTURE The most impressive aspect of this win was the fact that the Blueshirts refused to allow themselves to be rattled. Instead, they maintained their focus and did what they had to do to get a victory. That's what good teams do, regardless of the opponent.

RANGERS LEADERS Time on Ice -- Staal (25:19) Shots -- Gaborik (8) Hits -- Callahan (7) Blocks -- Eminger (4) Takeaways -- Three players tied (2) Faceoffs Taken -- Christensen (20)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT N.Y. ISLANDERS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Sean Avery	Erik Christensen	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Derek Stepan	Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Alex Frolov	Artem Anisimov	Derek Boogaard

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

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

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Michael Del Zotto	Derek Stepan
Michal Rozsival	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
Forward	Forward
FORWARD UNITS
Ryan Callahan	Brandon Dubinsky
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Ruslan Fedotenko	Derek Stepan

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Girardi/Sauer
Steve Eminger	Michal Rozsival