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Weekes makes 34 saves as Rangers edge Panthers

Dec 11, 2006 - 2:44 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- With the New York Rangers playing the back end of a back-to-back, Kevin Weekes put the team on his back.

Weekes made 34 saves and Martin Straka had a pair of assists as the Rangers notched their third straight win with a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.

In just his seventh start of the season, Weekes made a host of stellar saves over the first two periods. He preserved the win late in the third period with a clutch stop on Nathan Horton.

"(Weekes) was awesome, especially in the third," Straka said. "We didn't play very well in the third. He had a lot of chances and he made some unbelievable saves."

Weekes was particularly pleased with the team's effort, especially in the wake of a 3-1 triumph at Ottawa on Saturday night followed by the strong performance in the quick turnaround.

"Overall, that says a lot about our team when the guys come in and play (so well) after such a big win in Ottawa last night, where it's very tough to win," he said. "Turning around in less than 24 hours and traveling back to New York and having to play again on home ice, that's a big challenge."

Straka set up both goals for the Rangers, giving him seven tallies and 11 assists during a 10-game point streak.

On a power play midway through the first period, he gave the puck to superstar Jaromir Jagr, who sent a cross-ice feed to Michal Rozsival that the defenseman put under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead.

"It was great passing," Rozsival said. "We moved the puck well in the zone. I think they overplayed Jags and Shanny (Brendan Shanahan) too much and it opened up the hole in front of the zone and I was able to skate into it. It was a great play by Jags."

Michael Nylander doubled the advantage with his 11th goal of the season 51 seconds into the third period. Straka skated up the left boards and left a pass in the faceoff circle for Nylander, who ripped a shot past goaltender Ed Belfour.

Florida finally got on the board with 9:55 remaining courtesy of blue-liner Mike Van Ryn, who beat Weekes with a perfect shot on a 3-on-2 rush. But the Panthers were unable to cash in down the stretch as they lost their second straight game.

"(Weekes) came up big," Van Ryn said. "We had a couple of real good chances on him. He made some good saves or maybe we shot it at him, I don't know. We had chances. I think we battled better in the third better than in the other periods."

Panthers coach Jacques Martin is not losing any faith in his young team.

"The effort was there," Martin said. "It's just a matter of being able to score some goals. We have to capitalize a little more. I thought we had more chances than them. For a road game, I thought we played a pretty good road game."