Rangers ignite the Garden, put pressure on Carolina

2010-11 Game No. 82; Home Game No. 40		Rangers' Record: 44-33-5
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
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GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com With their playoff lives hanging in the balance, the Rangers rose up and erased a pair of one-goal deficits en-route to a convincing 5-2 victory over the Devils in the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers finished the 2010-11 season with 44 victories and 93 points -- six wins and six points better than a year ago. Yet despite all of their success this season, they had to wait a few more hours to learn their postseason fate. Should the Carolina Hurricanes lose their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight -- either in regulation or in overtime -- this evening, then the Rangers would advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. A Carolina win would tie the Rangers with 93 points, yet Carolina would gain the tiebreaker because they have more non-shootout victories than the Blueshirts, even though the Rangers would have three more overall wins (44-41) than the ‘Canes. “It was do or die today, and we did what we had to do,” said goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who finished with 24 saves while making his 26th consecutive start on Saturday. “We played a great game and we got the points. It is a weird feeling right now, because I don’t know if it’s going to be enough.” Rangers head coach John Tortorella expressed pride in his  ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME Henrik Lundqvist's record is 36-27-5. His 36 wins are tied for sixth in team history. He is 11-4-1 with a 2.10 GAA, .930 save percentage and three shutouts in the his last 16 games. THREE STARS (selected by the local media) 1. McDonagh 2. Chris Drury 3. V. Prospal

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THE BIGGER PICTURE This was a classic 2010-11 Rangers performance. The team refused to break and instead went on to a big win. If there is any sense of destiny among the hockey gods, then this team is going to make the playoffs and the Capitals have cause for concern.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Staal (26:21) Shots -- Gaborik (5) Hits -- Boyle (8) Blocks -- Four players tied (2) Takeaways -- Stepan (2) Faceoffs -- Dubinsky (14)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP VS. NEW JERSEY
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Vinny Prospal	Artem Anisimov	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Derek Stepan	Ruslan Fedotenko
Wojtek Wolski	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Chris Drury	Erik Christensen	Mats Zuccarello

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh	Michael Sauer
Bryan McCabe	Matt Gilroy
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Chad Johnson Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, Staal, Girardi, Anisimov, Gaborik, Prospal.