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Rangers pick up rare win over slumping Red Wings

Mar 22, 2012 - 3:46 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Ryan Callahan's goal with 2:18 remaining in overtime erased more than eight years of Rangers frustration, allowing New York to claim a 2-1 victory over Detroit at Madison Square Garden.

The winner was set up by defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who held the puck near the blue line after a dish from Brandon Dubinsky up the left wing. He centered for Callahan, whose rising wrister hit the back of the net just under the crossbar.

It assured the Blueshirts their first win over their Original Six rivals since October 25, 2003, and capped the Rangers captain's 27th birthday.

"I think we're starting to get our groove back, and we're starting to play how we want and how we were playing earlier in the year," Callahan said. "It's an important time of year, and we've got to keep building and keep going."

Brad Richards tallied in regulation for the Rangers, who have won two in a row and four of six. Henrik Lundqvist won with 26 saves.

Henrik Zetterberg lit the lamp for the Red Wings, who skidded to their sixth straight loss. In his first start since February 4, Ty Conklin lost despite making 32 stops.

Zetterberg's wrister from the inner edge of the right circle slipped between Lundqvist's pads at the 3:36 mark of the opening period.

Richards tied the game during a power play on an end-to-end rush with just over five minutes remaining, eventually moving past two defenders in the Detroit zone and sliding a shot through Conklin's pads.

Lundqvist stopped 15 shots over the next 40 minutes and was saved late in regulation by a shot clanging off the crossbar. Conklin was equal to 17 shots.

Conklin went low to stop Marian Gaborik off a 2-on-1 just over a minute into overtime, then dove to his left seconds later to deny him again.

"I don't think it's frustrating at all," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said of his injury-ravaged club failing to win. "It would have been the nice to get the second point. We had our opportunities, especially in the last minutes of the game. In the end, we didn't get 'er done."

Game Notes

Despite the loss, the Red Wings are still 16-3-2 against the Rangers since the start of the 1995-96 season, which includes a 7-2-2 mark in Manhattan...New York snapped a five-game losing skid to Detroit...The Wings matched their longest losing streak of the year, after a six-game slide from October 22- November 3...Conklin, who was recalled from Grand Rapids of the AHL, had to pass through re-entry waivers before returning to the Red Wings. He was backed up by Jordan Pearce, a fellow Alaska native, who has yet to appear in an NHL contest.