Rangers show Bruins the meaning of grit in OT win

2011-12 Game No. 46; Road Game No. 25	Rangers' Record: 30-12-4
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
• Full Highlights | Tortorella Postgame		• Gaborik, Richards, Lundqvist Postgame

GAME RECAP Associated Press Marian Gaborik scored twice, the second on a third-try backhander with 3.6 seconds left in overtime, and the Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves, and Ryan Callahan also scored for the Rangers. Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for the Bruins, who played most of the overtime down a man, 4-on-3, after Andrew Ference drew a five-minute major for driving defenseman Ryan McDonagh into the boards and was ejected. It looked as though the Bruins might make it to a shootout. As the Rangers pressured in the final seconds, Rask saved a shot from Callahan and then knocked away a backhander from Brad Richards with his glove. But Gaborik put in the rebound. Ference was given a game misconduct for charging with 3:10 left in overtime when he hit McDonagh from behind and sent him crashing into the boards behind the Rangers net. McDonagh was tended to by the medical staff and slowly made his way off the ice. That left the Rangers with a man advantage for the rest of the way. Boston managed to ice the puck repeatedly, but the Bruins needed to clear the zone one more time. The Rangers took the lead 91 seconds into the second period when Callahan came out of the penalty box, skated across the ice and down the left boards where he took the pass and wristed the puck into the net. Boston tied it on a goal by Ference. The Rangers went on top again when Carl Hagelin's pass deflected off Dennis Seidenberg and, with the puck still bouncing, Gaborik chipped it into the net. With 49 seconds left in the second period, Adam McQuaid picked the puck out of the air, settled it on his stick and shot it in off McDonagh's leg to tie it 2-all. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Rangers extended their winning streak against the Bruins to three games and have won seven of their last nine meetings, including four of the last five at Boston. Fifteen of the last 18 Rangers-Bruins games have been decided by one goal, including six games that required extra time and five that went to the shootout, dating back to March 24, 2007. The Rangers are 9-4-2 in one-goal games against Boston over the span. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Gaborik 2. Callahan 3. Lundqvist

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THE BIGGER PICTURE Much like the Winter Classic, the Rangers went into a highly-anticipated and much talked-about game and came away with a dramatic win. That bodes very well for a run deep into this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, when every game is essentially like this one.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Girardi (33:31) Shots -- Richards, Callahan (6) Hits -- Prust, Callahan (6) Blocks -- McDonagh (7) Takeaways -- Stepan (2) Faceoffs -- Richards (19)

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

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, McDonagh, Girardi, Dubinsky, Boyle, Callahan.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Carl Hagelin	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Artem Anisimov	Ryan Callahan

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Michael Del Zotto	Brad Richards
Staal/McDonagh	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Ryan Callahan	Derek Stepan
Ruslan Fedotenko	Artem Anisimov

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