Canadiens 3 - 5 Rangers
Final
  for this game

Rangers hold on to edge Canadiens

Nov 6, 2011 - 2:13 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Erik Christensen notched his first goal of the season and added an assist to help the New York Rangers take a 5-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.

Artem Anisimov had two assists while Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves in the Rangers' third straight win.

Carey Price stopped 24-of-28 shots and Tomas Plekanec assisted on all three of Montreal's goals as the Canadiens had their four-game win streak snapped.

A brawl broke out early in the first period after Rangers center Brandon Dubinksy took a big hit in center ice from Montreal's Mike Blunden, resulting in two fights breaking out and two game misconducts being handed out.

After everything settled, the Rangers wound up with a two-man advantage, resulting in Christensen's first goal on a one-timer from a cross-ice feed from Derek Stepan.

New York took a 3-0 lead into the first break after Dan Girardi snapped a shot into the top-right corner halfway through the first and Michael Del Zotto slipped a backhander through the legs of Price with less than three minutes left in the period.

Montreal got on the board just 24 seconds into the second when Max Pacioretty put home a big rebound off a Plekanec shot from the left circle.

The Canadiens then made it a one-goal game at the 12:20 mark thanks to a 5- on-3 power play when Andrei Kostitsyn tipped in a Plekanec pass in front of the net.

But Brad Richards gave the Rangers back their cushion with 1:10 left in the second when he fired a wrister from the slot that streaked past Price's glove.

"It was huge," Lundqvist said about Richard's goal. "The momentum was about to change, it already had changed a little bit, so that goal got us back into the game and it felt like we were on top again. He's a big player that makes big plays at big times and that one was huge for us."

The Canadiens made it a one-goal game again with less than two minutes to go in regulation when Brian Gionta's slap shot from the left point found its way through a crowd and bounced past Lundqvist, but Ryan Callahan's empty-net goal just over a minute later sealed the outcome.

Game Notes

Rangers forward Wojtek Wolski did not play Saturday because of a groin problem...Montreal's Petteri Nokelainen and New York's Michael Sauer were issued game misconducts...The Rangers were outshot 25-13 over the last two periods...It was Rangers head coach John Tortorella's 100th win with New York.






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