Rangers' big road show proves too much for Blues

2010-11 Game No. 43; Road Game No. 23		Rangers' Record: 25-15-3
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GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com Entering Saturday’s contest in St. Louis, Rangers goaltender Martin Biron had never beaten the Blues over the course of his 12-year NHL career. Despite that fact, Biron made his 11th start of the season in place of Henrik Lundqvist when the Rangers invaded the Scottrade Center on Saturday night. The decision to play Biron proved to be a sound one, as he turned in an outstanding 23-save effort to lead the Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Blues that completed a sweep of the Blueshirts’ two-games-in-two-nights road swing through Dallas and St. Louis this weekend. The victory -- Biron’s first in 10 career games against the Blues -- was the Rangers’ league-high 15th on the road this season. They have now won three straight games and are 25-15-3 overall on the season, with their 53 points keeping them one point behind Washington for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. “We talked about this weekend being the difference between a team that fights for a playoff spot at the end of the year or one that fights for home-ice advantage, what team do we want to be,” said Biron. “It wasn’t easy. Last night we gut one out in Dallas, then a quick turnaround and we do the same thing tonight. It’s just about finding ways to win, and showing that resiliency and battle level. That’s our identity.” While Biron’s play was a huge part of Saturday’s victory, so, too, was the spectacular performance put forth by the Rangers’ penalty-killing unit. The Rangers killed off all six Blues power ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME Brandon Dubinsky tallied two assists to increase his team-leading total to 20 on the season. He has registered 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in the last 17 contests, including nine points points in the last eight games. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. M. Biron 2. M. Gaborik 3. B. Dubinsky

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THE BIGGER PICTURE When the Rangers missed the playoffs in 2010, head coach John Tortorella said the big problem was consistency of effort. How remarkable that just one year later this is perhaps the most consistent Rangers squad since the team's heyday in the mid-1990s.

RANGERS LEADERS Time on Ice -- Staal (27:51) Shots -- Gaborik (6) Hits -- Girardi (4) Blocks -- Girardi (4) Takeaways -- Dubinsky (1) Faceoffs -- Boyle (18)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT ST. LOUIS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Brandon Dubinsky	Derek Stepan	Mats Zuccarello
Sean Avery	Artem Anisimov	Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Alex Frolov	Chris Drury	Dale Weise

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Steve Eminger	Michael Sauer
Ryan McDonagh	Matt Gilroy
Goaltenders: Martin Biron, Henrik Lundqvist Starting Lineup: Biron, Staal, Girardi, Fedotenko, Boyle, Prust.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Mats Zuccarello	Brandon Dubinsky	Marian Gaborik
Alex Frolov	Artem Anisimov	Ruslan Fedotenko

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Marc Staal	Derek Stepan
Matt Gilroy	Dan Girardi

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

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