By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com
Returning home from a week-long trip to the West Coast, the Rangers showed no ill effects from jet lag Tuesday night as they skated their way to an important 6-3 victory over the Islanders at Madison Square Garden.
With the victory, the Rangers, who have won four of their last five games, moved past the Buffalo Sabres into seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 78 points. Buffalo was shut out by Carolina 1-0 on Tuesday.
Marian Gaborik scored twice for the Blueshirts, while former Islander Bryan McCabe joined Ryan Callahan and Erik Christensen in recording both a goal and an assist for a Rangers team that tallied three power-play goals and also scored shorthanded in the game.
“We knew (the Islanders) had been playing well lately, so we knew had to have a big game,” said Gaborik, who has scored three goals in his last three games. “It was a big win for us. It was important, especially in front of these great fans, to score some goals and get some important points.”
After letting a 2-0 first-period lead dissipate into a 2-2 tie just 3:50 into the second period, the Rangers regained their footing and scored three unanswered goals before reaching the second intermission.
At the core of the home team’s return to form was its revived power play. And at the heart of the Rangers’ power play was ...
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STAT OF THE GAME
Thirteen different Blueshirts recorded at least one point, including four who registered two. The last time the Rangers had at least 13 players with a point in a single game was Jan. 19, 2010, at Tampa Bay (16 players).
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| (selected by the local media) |
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| 1. M. Gaborik |
2. R. Callahan |
3. Christensen |
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