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Avery helps Rangers continue hot streak

Mar 7, 2008 - 4:31 AM UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Rangers continue to pile up the points.

Sean Avery scored two goals and Nigel Dawes recorded a pair of assists as the Rangers extended their streak of games without a regulation loss to 11 with a 4-1 triumph over the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Brendan Shanahan and Scott Gomez also tallied for the Rangers, who have gone 8-0-3 since suffering a 4-1 setback to the Anaheim Ducks on February 7. The Rangers lost in a shootout at home to the Islanders on Tuesday.

Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves for the Rangers (35-24-9), who improved to 7-0-2 in their last nine road games and claimed sole possession of sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

"I'd rather be in first place in the conference at the end of the season," Avery said. "It's got to be a good feeling. Sometimes it just takes a while for a team to really mesh, and we're doing it at the right time."

"Those things are going to change with each and every game," Shanahan said of the standings. "We didn't come in here to finish in sixth. We're just concentrating on playing each game well."

The win was the Swede's 30th of the season, making him just the second goaltender in NHL history to reach the mark in each of his first three campaigns.

Ron Hextall also accomplished the feat from 1986-89 with Philadelphia.

"It was important for me to get a good, solid game and to get a win," Lundqvist said. "When you face more shots and you feel good, you get a little more patient. When you feel like, 'I'm in this game,' it's easier to be in the right place at the right time."

"I thought he was terrific," Rangers coach Tom Renney said of the netminder. "I thought there was a point in time where he was saving our backsides. He was very strong, looked very confident."

Sean Bergenheim scored for the Islanders (32-30-7), who have lost four straight at home and five of seven overall. The Islanders fell five points behind the Philadelphia Flyers (34-26-8) for eighth place in the East.

"We don't have a lot of games left," Islanders captain Bill Guerin said. "What are we down to, 13 now? We're going to have to win a lot of those and some people are going to have to lose. The good thing is, there are a lot of division games.

"Nobody's quitting. We're going to keep going and see where everything falls after 82 games."

Shanahan put the Rangers ahead early, scoring his 22nd goal of the season just 89 seconds into the game. After receiving a pass by Dawes from the defensive zone, the veteran skated in on a breakaway from the Islanders' blue line and beat goaltender Wade Dubielewicz to the stick side with a wrist shot for a 1-0 lead.

"They were getting a delayed penalty, so we had six guys on the ice," Shanahan said. "Sometimes as defensemen, they're probably seeing five guys in front of them, so they weren't used to having six guys."

"It's huge," Dawes said of the goal. "We set the tone really good early in the first."

The Rangers doubled the advantage with 6:35 to go in the first period. From the left point, defenseman Marek Malik passed the puck to Avery, who redirected it past Dubielewicz from the slot for his 12th of the campaign.

"That was probably our best period," Renney said. "I thought we controlled the Islanders by controlling the puck."

Renney also was impressed with the play of Avery.

"He's such an intense, competitive guy, and I think we all appreciate that in him," Renney said. "He energized everybody else. He's played well. This is clearly the best he's played all season."

Having scored just four goals in their previous four home games, the Islanders halved the deficit in the second period. Bergenheim unleashed a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that deflected off Malik's shin and then another defender's skate before getting by Lundqvist at 10:34.

The goal was Bergenheim's ninth of the season and second in as many games.

Entering with just one win in the previous five meetings between the Atlantic Division rivals this season, the Rangers restored their two-goal bulge early in the third.

Rookie defenseman Marc Staal fired the puck toward the net from above the left circle, and Gomez deflected it past Dubielewicz 72 seconds into the period for a 3-1 cushion. With the tally, Gomez extended his points streak to five games.

"I tried to come across and didn't get far enough," Dubielewicz said. "I don't know who shot it in or what happened. It's tough. You want to make them earn it."

Avery sealed the victory with an empty-netter with 58 seconds remaining. He admitted that watching LeBron James help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday may have inspired him.

"I think anytime you see somebody play well in New York, it's a good feeling," Avery said. "All that stuff is motivation, and it just shows how much fun it is to win."

Dubielewicz, who was a surprise starter with All-Star Rick DiPietro back with the team following the death of his grandmother, turned aside 24 shots.

"I think a bigger deal was made of it than it really had to be," Guerin said. "It was no big deal. ... Dubie's been playing great for us lately, and he won the last game. We don't have time for hurt feelings or to worry about who's playing here or who's playing there."

"He's a great goalie and we've had tough times with him," Shanahan said of Dubielewicz. "He's been a bit of a Ranger killer, so it's nice to get one on him."

Guerin was more concerned with his team's power play, which went 0-for-5.

"It's awful," he said of the man-advantage unit, which entered ranked 25th in the league. "We've tried to figure it out and try to do different things each game. It's (bleeping) awful. I don't know what it is."