NEW YORK — Ryan Callahan had two
goals and two assists, Brandon Dubinsky added two goals and an assist
and the New York Rangers broke out of a scoring drought to beat the
Montreal Canadiens 6-2 on Sunday night.
Marian Gaborik had a goal and two
assists, and Chris Drury also scored to help the Rangers — who had only
five goals overall in their previous five games — end a three-game
losing streak. They outshot Montreal 34-20, including 15-2 in the
second period.
Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta scored for the Canadiens.
Both teams were coming off losses
Saturday night and in need of points in the tight Eastern Conference
playoff race. The Rangers moved into sixth place with 53 points. The
Canadiens, who have scored two goals or less in six of their last seven
games (2-4-1) have 50 points.
The Rangers had scored just one goal
in their previous three games. But they suddenly erupted for three
consecutive goals in the second period to wipe away Montreal's 2-0
advantage.
Fifty-seven seconds into the period
and 8 seconds after the Canadiens killed off a penalty, the Rangers
scored. Gaborik collected a loose puck behind the goal line and sent it
toward the net. The puck was in the crease and Callahan poked it over
the line before goalie Jaroslav Halak swiped it back out.
The Rangers then added a short-handed
goal on a 4-on-3 skating situation. Callahan picked up a loose puck off
a draw in the Rangers' zone, pushed the puck ahead to himself and broke
in on Halak. When Halak couldn't control Callahan's point-blank shot,
Dubinsky tapped it out of the air and into the net at the 8:28 mark.
Just 2:36 later, Dubinsky scored
again. Vinny Prospal carried the puck around defenseman Jaroslav Spacek
and centered perfectly to the right doorstep, and Dubinsky buried it
for his 10th goal of the season and the 3-2 lead.
Callahan scored his second and 12th
of the season 26 seconds into a power play early in the third period,
but it wasn't credited as a goal until a play stoppage with 2 seconds
left in the man advantage. A video review showed the puck had made just
it past the goal line. Dubinsky later set up Gaborik on a 2-on-1 break
for his 29th goal of the season, breaking a five-game scoreless streak.
Then Callahan set up Drury for a goal with 4:11 left to cap the
scoring.
Cammalleri gave Montreal a 1-0 lead
3:30 into the game after he took a perfect lead pass from Tomas
Plekanec from near the top of the right circle and put the puck past
Henrik Lundqvist (18 saves). The Canadiens scored again on a power play
with 5:10 left in the period. Gionta batted in a rebound of a
Marc-Andre Bergeron drive from the point. The goal was upheld after a
video review to check if Gionta scored with a high stick.
Notes
Montreal center Scott Gomez
returned for the first time since the Rangers traded him in the
offseason after two years with them, but he did not sound emotional
about it before the game. "It probably was a little different going
back to Jersey because I was there so long," Gomez said. The Garden
crowd booed him every time he touched the puck on the first shift. "I
got traded," Gomez said. "It wasn't like I wanted to go. … I loved my
time here." … Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik played his 1,200 NHL
game, the 29th defenseman and 83rd player overall to reach the
milestone. … Lundqvist has given up two goals or less in eight
straight starts (5-1-2).