Canadiens get past Rangers in Wolski's first game

2010-11 Game No. 44; Home Game No. 21		Rangers' Record: 25-16-3
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GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com The Rangers got off to a quick start and played a strong game on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, they could not find a way to put away the Montreal Canadiens and as a result dropped a 2-1 decision that brought to an end their three-game winning streak. Montreal’s Benoit Pouliot scored the game-winning goal at 6:03 of the third period on a rush down left wing with a shot from the lower circle that snuck past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The goal snapped a 1-1 tie and held up despite a slew of late scoring chances for the home team. “We wanted this win and I thought we played really well,” said Lundqvist, who finished with 36 saves. “I just felt like it just wasn’t our night. Obviously it’s disappointing to come up short at home where it’s fun to be back playing now that we’re off the road.” The loss was the Blueshirts’ first in regulation at MSG in six games dating back to Dec. 5. The Rangers are now 4-1-1 in their last six at The Garden. “Good teams find ways to win these games,” said Brandon Dubinsky. “We have to capitalize better on our scoring chances, especially with an early lead.” In extremely fitting fashion for a game being played on Jan. 11, 2011 (1/11/11), the Rangers and Canadiens reached the second intermission tied 1-1, on a goal scored with 1:11 remaining in the middle stanza. And somewhat eerily, both teams recorded 11 shots on goal in that second period. Montreal’s Jaroslav Spacek scored the tying goal late in the second as the Canadiens successfully crashed Lundqvist’s ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME Henrik Lundqvist registered an assist to extend his assist streak to three games, tying the NHL record for longest assist streak by a goaltender. Two other goalies posted three-game assist streaks in NHL history -– Tom Barrasso in 1984-85 and 1988-89, and Ed Belfour in 2001-02. Lundqvist is the first Rangers goalie to record an assist in three straight games. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. H. Lundqvist 2. B. Dubinsky 3. W. Wolski

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THE BIGGER PICTURE Although the Blueshirts didn't get a win out of this one, they continued to generate quality scoring chances and got some of their best ones from Wojtek Wolski, who was fresh off the plane from Phoenix. That's a very good sign for Wolski going forward.

RANGERS LEADERS Time on Ice -- Staal (25:25) Shots -- Zuccarello, Gilroy (4) Hits -- Girardi, Eminger (6) Blocks -- Eminger (6) Takeaways -- Anisimov (2) Faceoffs -- Boyle (14)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP VS. MONTREAL
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Brandon Dubinsky	Derek Stepan	Mats Zuccarello
Wojtek Wolski	Artem Anisimov	Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Sean Avery	Chris Drury	Dale Weise

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

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

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
Michael Sauer	Dan Girardi
Steve Eminger	Matt Gilroy