Gaborik finishes off Isles in the OT's closing seconds

2011-12 Game No. 68; Home Game No. 32	Rangers' Record: 43-18-7
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
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GAME RECAP Associated Press Marian Gaborik scored the Rangers' third power-play goal in the dying seconds of overtime, and the Blueshirts ended a three-game regulation losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Islanders on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. Gaborik snapped a rising shot over goalie Evgeni Nabokov's right shoulder to win it at 4:54. Brad Richards scored twice on the power play to reach 20 goals for the ninth time, and helped set up Gaborik's winner for the Rangers, who hold a four-point lead over Pittsburgh in the races for the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with 14 games remaining. Brian Boyle also scored for the Rangers, who erased three one-goal deficits. Henrik Lundqvist made 16 saves for the Rangers, who had 36 shots. John Tavares, Matt Moulson and defenseman Andrew MacDonald had goals for the Islanders, who absorbed their second tough loss in two days. The Rangers had scored only one power-play goal in their previous eight games. They tied it the last time at 3:29 of the third period when Boyle got enough of defenseman Ryan McDonagh's shot from the left point to deflect it past Nabokov. Boyle's sixth goal of the season snapped a 15-game drought. The Islanders carried a 3-2 lead into the period after a back-and-forth second in which they scored twice against Lundqvist on only seven shots. The Islanders had a 3-2 lead despite being outshot 24-12 through 40 minutes. The Rangers held 13-7 edge in the second period, but were outscored 2-1. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STATS OF THE GAME The Blueshirts' 23-7-2 (48 pts) mark at MSG is their best record at home through 32 games since 1993-94 (22-6-4, 48 pts). The Blueshirts outshot the Islanders 36-19 in the contest, and improved to 24-8-1 when out-shooting their opponent. The Rangers’ .727 winning percentage when outshooting their opponent leads the league. The Rangers improved to 13-5-2 against Atlantic Division opponents this season, and have outscored their opponents 57-43 in divisional play. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Richards 2. Gaborik 3. Stralman

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THE BIGGER PICTURE This is the kind of game that should reassure everyone that the Blueshirts have a deep playoff run ahead of them. When you can grind out victories against desperate opponents on a night of bad bounces, your system is working the way it was designed.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- McDonagh (26:36) Shots -- Richards (6) Hits -- Dubinsky (4) Blocks -- McDonagh (4) Takeaways -- Stepan (2) Faceoffs -- Boyle (19)

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

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Stu Bickel
Steve Eminger	Anton Stralman
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Girardi, Dubinsky, Richards, Hagelin.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Mats Zuccarello	Brian Boyle	Marian Gaborik
Artem Anisimov	Derek Stepan	John Mitchell

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Brad Richards	Anton Stralman
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Brandon Prust	Boyle/Dubinsky
Ruslan Fedotenko	Artem Anisimov
Carl Hagelin	Derek Stepan

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Stu Bickel