Hagelin sets tone as Rangers blast Bolts at Garden

2013 Game No. 11; Home Game No. 7	Rangers' Record: 6-5-0
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
• Full Highlights | Tortorella | Hagelin and Nash		• Lundqvist | Melrose CU Save of Game
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GAME RECAP Following their 4-1 victory over the Islanders on Thursday night the Rangers spoke about stringing together some wins to offset a one-step-forward-one-step-back start to the 2013 season. And on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden the Rangers followed through with an impressive 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. For the second straight game the Rangers were paced offensively by one of the team's impressive group of young players, and Henrik Lundqvist sparkled in goal at the other end of the ice. On Thursday it was rookie J.T. Miller, and on Sunday it was second-year pro Carl Hagelin, who also scored on the Rangers' first shot of the contest and who added another score later in the game, while Lundqvist was rock-solid between the pipes, backstopping the win with 19 saves. Hagelin set the stage for the Rangers to race out to a 3-0 lead before the game was half over, eventually driving Tampa Bay goaltender Mathieu Garon from the match 9:58 into the second period. Just 31 seconds into the game Hagelin deflected a spinning wrist shot from the high slot by Rick Nash past Garon to give the Rangers a quick 1-0 lead. The Rangers doubled their advantage before the first period was over when Ryan Callahan intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and beat Garon's at 15:13. Hagelin kayoed Garon from the game scoring his second of the contest, and third of the season, at 9:58 of the second period. Arron Asham iced the win for the Rangers by scoring his first goal with the team with 7:38 to play in the third. Nash scored his third of the season with nine seconds left to play. Hagelin assisted on the goal, giving him a career-high-tying three points in the contest. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STATS OF THE GAME The Rangers remained undefeated when scoring the first goal this season, posting a record of 4-0-0 in those contests, compared to 2-5-0 when allowing the game's first goal. The Blueshirts improved to 4-0-0 when leading after the first and second periods. THREE STARS (selected by the local media) 1. Hagelin 2. Lundqvist 3. Nash

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THE BIGGER PICTURE This was the game where the 2013 Rangers really found themselves and took on the winning identity that characterized them last season. Now that the kinks have been worked out, the team is almost certainly not going to dip below .500 again.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Staal (24:20) Shots -- Hagelin (6) Hits -- Stralman, Callahan (5) Blocks -- Three players tied (2) Takeaways -- Six players tied (1) Faceoffs -- Stepan (25)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP VS. TAMPA BAY
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Carl Hagelin	Derek Stepan	Rick Nash
Marian Gaborik	Brad Richards	Taylor Pyatt
Chris Kreider	J.T. Miller	Ryan Callahan
Arron Asham	Jeff Halpern	Darroll Powe

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto	Matt Gilroy
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Girardi, Hagelin, Stepan, Nash.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Rick Nash	Derek Stepan	Ryan Callahan
Chris Kreider	J.T. Miller	Marian Gaborik

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

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Ryan Callahan	Derek Stepan
Jeff Halpern	Darroll Powe

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh	Anton Stralman