Rangers win yet again, toppling Coyotes in shootout

2011-12 Game No. 40; Home Game No. 18	Rangers' Record: 27-9-4
VIDEO: COMPLETE OT SHOOTOUT
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GAME RECAP Associated Press Derek Stepan's goal in the sixth round of the shootout lifted the Rangers past the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Tuesday night. Stepan beat Phoenix goalie Mike Smith high to the glove side before the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist stopped Coyotes captain Shane Doan to secure the win. The Rangers, who won for the 10th time in 11 games, improved to 27-9-4 for a league-leading 58 points and their best start since 1993-94 when they won the Stanley Cup. New York won its fifth straight overall and improved to 13-3-2 at home. After two scoreless periods, Ruslan Fedotenko put New York ahead at 2:27 of the third with his sixth goal of the season. Phoenix's Radim Vrbata tied it with his team-leading 20th with 9:23 remaining in regulation. The Rangers beat the Coyotes for the eighth time in their last 10 meetings, including a 3-2 victory on Dec. 17 in Phoenix when Brad Richards got the game-winner with 0.1 seconds left in regulation. Smith made a spectacular stick save on Marian Gaborik at 3:10 of overtime on a penalty shot. Gaborik went to the forehand and seemingly had Smith beat but the goalie somehow got the handle of his stick on the puck as he sprawled to his right. Lundqvist made key saves on Ray Whitney and former Ranger Lauri Korpikoski in the last minute of overtime. Lundqvist, who won his career-high seventh straight, has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 21 games this season, and is 17-4-1 with three shutouts since Nov. 3. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Blueshirts’ current five-game winning streak is their fourth winning streak of five or more this season, which is the most in the league. It is also the first time in franchise history the Rangers have posted four winning streaks of five or more games through the team’s first 40 games of the season. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Lundqvist 2. Stepan 3. Boyle

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THE BIGGER PICTURE The Rangers continue to turn heads throughout the league, and they are now amazingly ahead of the regular-season pace set by only Rangers team that has won the Stanley Cup in the past 72 years. This is clearly a special season and a special team.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Girardi (26:43) Shots -- Richards, Boyle (4) Hits -- Girardi, Stepan, Boyle (5) Blocks -- McDonagh (4) Takeaways -- Hagelin (4) Faceoffs -- Richards (19)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP VS. PHOENIX
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Artem Anisimov	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Brad Richards	Ryan Callahan
Carl Hagelin	Brian Boyle	Ruslan Fedotenko
Mike Rupp	John Mitchell	Brandon Prust

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto	Anton Stralman
Marc Staal	Stu Bickel
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, Del Zotto, Stralman, Anisimov, Stepan, Gaborik.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Ryan Callahan	Dubinsky/Richards	Marian Gaborik
Mike Rupp	Derek Stepan	Artem Anisimov

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Stepan/Richards	Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto	Anton Stralman