Rangers top Habs to hit 50 wins in Original Six style

2011-12 Game No. 78; Home Game No. 39	Rangers' Record: 50-21-7
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
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GAME RECAP Associated Press Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards scored early, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto had two goals in the third period as the Rangers won their fourth in a row and moved closer to securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night. Henrik Lundqvist was steady throughout in winning for the third straight game and for the sixth time in seven. He won at Minnesota and at Winnipeg to get to 250 NHL victories, and helped the Rangers widen their lead. His best stop of the night came two minutes into the third period when he denied David Desharnais on a breakaway to keep the score at 2-0. Rene Bourque spoiled Lundqvist's chances of a shutout when he scored with 2:29 left to make it 4-1. Lundqvist made 19 saves. The Rangers moved one point ahead of the St. Louis Blues in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. Gaborik scored in the first period and Richards had a power-play goal in the second for the Rangers (50-21-7), who are 6-1 in their last seven games. Del Zotto also had a man-advantage goal. Carey Price was sturdy and made 25 saves for the Canadiens, and although there wasn't much action over the first two periods, the Rangers scored once in each frame and were never threatened by the Canadiens, who are just hoping to escape the cellar in the East. This low position is quite unfamiliar to Montreal, which won the Stanley Cup for the first time on this date in 1916. Del Zotto scored a power-play goal 8:17 into the third, firing a shot that squeezed past Price. He made it 4-0 with 3:02 remaining, scoring his 10th of the season. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STATS OF THE GAME The Rangers tallied two power play goals in four attempts on Friday night (6:24 total icetime), and they are now 9-for-38 (23.7 percent) on the power play in the last 11 games. The Blueshirts are 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) when they have the man-advantage in the last two games, and they are now 24-1-4 when tallying a power play goal this season. THREE STARS (selected by the local media) 1. Lundqvist 2. Del Zotto 3. Gaborik

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THE BIGGER PICTURE This 50th victory all but locked up the conference title for the Rangers, who now enjoy a comfortable five-point lead over Pittsburgh with only four games to play. That means they would have home-ice for at least three playoff rounds -- and perhaps more.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Girardi (23:00) Shots -- Dubinsky, Hagelin (5) Hits -- Callahan (4) Blocks -- McDonagh (4) Takeaways -- Boyle, McDonagh (2) Faceoffs -- Boyle (19)

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

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto	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
Ryan Callahan	Brad Richards	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Brian Boyle	Artem Anisimov

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

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

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Michael Del Zotto