Rangers cap remarkable rally with OT shootout win

2010-11 Game No. 34; Home Game No. 17		Rangers' Record: 20-13-1
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GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com The Rangers entered the third period of their game with the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in a very similar position to how they skated into the final 20 minutes of their contest against the Penguins in Pittsburgh only 24 hours prior, trailing by one goal. And they came away with the same satisfying result on Thursday as they did on Wednesday -- a victory and two more important points in the standings. The Rangers edged the Coyotes 4-3 in a game decided by the shootout, one night after scoring four times in the third period to defeat the Penguins 4-1. “I didn’t see many times we weren’t playing this hard when I was watching from the stands in my (injury) absence, and I don’t see it now,” said captain Chris Drury, who assisted on Derek Stepan’s tying goal in the third period. “The guys are playing hard every time they are out on the ice. It’s a choice they make, to play hard, to grind it out. And clearly they have committed to that choice.” Trailing 3-2, and with time winding down in regulation, Drury won a huge faceoff in the offensive zone back to defenseman Michal Rozsival. Stationed just inside the blueline, Rozsival fired a shot towards Phoenix netminder Jason LaBarbera as Drury and Stepan charged towards the former Rangers’ goal crease. LaBarbera made the first save, and then another on Drury’s put-back, but Stepan hammered the final rebound into the cage for his eighth goal of the season -- and first ever at The Garden -- to pull the Rangers even with 5:43 left to play. “I knew he was going to win that faceoff,” Stepan said of Drury.   ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME Erik Christensen is now 20-for-37 (54.1%) all-time in the shootout with 10 game-deciding goals. The 10 game-deciding goals is tied for fifth in the NHL all-time and his 20 shootout goals is tied for 10th, while he ranks eighth all-time with a 54.1% career shooting percentage in the shootout. THREE STARS (selected by the local media) 1. Dan Girardi 2. B. Prust 3. Christensen

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THE BIGGER PICTURE Many teams might have suffered a letdown in the game following a big win like the one in Pittsburgh. The Rangers, however, did not let up even after they fell behind by two goals. That 9-0-0 record in the second half of back-to-back sets means a lot.

RANGERS LEADERS Time on Ice -- Staal (30:01) Shots -- Gaborik (5) Hits -- Del Zotto (3) Blocks -- Girardi (7) Takeaways -- Drury, Anisimov (2) Faceoffs -- Boyle (20)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP VS. PHOENIX
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Ruslan Fedotenko	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Artem Anisimov	Chris Drury
Alex Frolov	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Sean Avery	Erik Christensen	Todd White

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, Staal, Girardi, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Drury.

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

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Michael Del Zotto	Derek Stepan
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
Forward	Forward
FORWARD UNITS
Brandon Prust	Dubinsky/Boyle
Chris Drury	Brian Boyle
Ruslan Fedotenko	Artem Anisimov

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