By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com
For the first time this season, the Rangers wore their road white sweaters for a home game on Sunday, perhaps looking to capture the magic they have achieved on the road this season and bring it with them to Madison Square Garden.
The Blueshirts more than received the desired result they were seeking, routing the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 behind Ryan Callahan’s career-best four-goal, five-point performance and Henrik Lundqvist’s league-leading ninth shutout.
“You could feel that it was like a playoff game here today, the crowd was definitely into it,” said Lundqvist, who made 24 saves. “And it was a good win. We needed this one badly here at home before going out on a road trip.”
In every aspect of the game, the Rangers were better than the Flyers on Sunday. They scored on the first shift of the contest and never looked back, playing an exciting brand of physical hockey that prompted several standing ovations from the appreciative Garden Faithful.
“We need the building to be rocking here,” said Lundqvist. “It was a great atmosphere.”
Callahan opened the scoring just 51 seconds into the game as the Rangers set the tone for Sunday’s contest with a tenacious forecheck led by Brandon Dubinsky. It was Dubinsky’s outstanding puck control behind the Flyers’ net that set the stage for Callahan’s goal when Dubinsky slid the puck into the low slot, off of Callahan, and into the net for a quick 1-0 lead. ...
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STAT OF THE GAME
Sunday's victory over the Flyers marked the eighth time this season that the Rangers have registered six or more goals in a single game, which is the most since they tallied six or more in nine games during the 1998-99 season when Wayne Gretzky was the Blueshirts' leading scorer.
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| 1. R. Callahan |
2. Lundqvist |
3. Zuccarello |
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