Rangers run into defensive wall vs. Blues at St. Louis

2011-12 Game No. 29; Road Game No. 16	Rangers' Record: 17-8-4
VIDEO: TORTORELLA POSTGAME
• Full Highlights | Highlight of the Game		• Lundqvist, Richards, Callahan Postgame

GAME RECAP Associated Press Brian Elliott made 25 saves, and Alex Steen had a goal and an assist in the St. Louis Blues' 4-1 victory over the Rangers on Thursday night. Elliott, who has won nine of his last 10, lowered his NHL-leading goals-against average to 1.43 and increased his league-best save percentage to .950. The Blues (7-0-1) have 15 of a possible 16 points against Eastern Conference foes this season. St. Louis has now gone 9-1-3 against the Rangers since 2000-01. Patrik Berglund, David Perron and Jamie Langenbrunner also scored for the Blues, who have points in 14 of their last 16 games. Michael Del Zotto scored for the Rangers, and Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves. Berglund opened the scoring at 7:06. Just 3:57 later, Perron tipped home Carlo Colaiacovo's shot from the left point, marking the first time the Blues had scored two goals in the first period since Oct. 22, a span of 21 games. The Blues outshot the Rangers 13-5 in the second period, but New York got the only goal when Del Zotto beat Elliott with a backhander at 16:18 to make it 2-1. Steen gave St. Louis its two-goal lead back when he scored 1:01 into the third period. Langenbrunner then scored into an empty net with 2:17 left to seal it. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME Thursday night was the ninth time this season that Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has made 30-plus saves in a game, and he is now 4-4-1 with a 2.31 goals against average, .934 save percentage and one shutout in those contests. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Dubinsky 2. Del Zotto 3. Stralman

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THE BIGGER PICTURE Was it pretty? No. Was it a lesson learned? Yes, and that's the key point here. This Blueshirts team has shown a remarkable ability to learn lessons on the fly and turn right back around with very strong performances. This group's pride is one of its best assets.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Girardi (26:15) Shots -- Dubinsky (5) Hits -- Callahan (4) Blocks -- Girardi, McDonagh (2) Takeaways -- Four players tied (1) Faceoffs -- Richards (23)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT ST. LOUIS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Artem Anisimov	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brad Richards	Ryan Callahan
Carl Hagelin	Brian Boyle	John Mitchell
Brandon Dubinsky	Erik Christensen	Brandon Prust

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto	Steve Eminger
Jeff Woywitka	Anton Stralman
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Girardi, Fedotenko, Richards, Callahan.

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Ryan Callahan	Brian Boyle
Brandon Prust	Carl Hagelin
Artem Anisimov	Derek Stepan

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto	Anton Stralman