Maple Leafs 4 - 2 Rangers
Final
  for this game

Rangers hope to extend win streak against Maple Leafs

Dec 5, 2011 - 3:39 PM (Sports Network) - The New York Rangers will aim for a sixth straight victory tonight, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in a battle between Original Six teams at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers recorded their fifth consecutive victory Saturday in Tampa and it was also the club's 12th win in 14 trips to the ice.

New York trailed the Lightning by a 2-1 score after 40 minutes, but Brad Richards, Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov each scored third-period goals to help lift the Rangers to the 4-2 victory. Richards, Stepan and Anisimov each had an assist as well.

Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves for the Rangers, pushing his record to 11-4-3 this season.

"This was a real good road game. And the best part is how we responded in the third," Lundqvist said.

Richards enters tonight riding a five-game point streak and has four goals and five assists during the run. New York's big free agent signing from last summer is leading the Blueshirts with 22 points on the year.

The Rangers have a stellar 7-1-1 record at MSG this year and are opening a brief two-game homestand tonight. New York will also host the Lightning on Thursday.

The Maple Leafs will try to avoid a three-game skid tonight after getting swept in a home-and-home series with Boston. The Bruins notched a 6-3 win Wednesday in Toronto and then recorded a 4-1 win Saturday in Boston.

Saturday's game marked the return of Toronto's James Reimer to the crease. Reimer allowed four goals on 30 shots in his first action since suffering a concussion on October 22 against Montreal.

"I thought he overall looked very solid, it looked like he really hadn't missed a beat," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said. "We just didn't help him very much."

Mikhail Grabovski provided the lone offense for the Maple Leafs, who had won three in a row before running into the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Toronto is 8-6-0 as the visiting team this season and is wrapping a two-game swing tonight.

The Maple Leafs notched a 4-2 win at MSG on Oct. 27, ending a three-game winning streak in the series by the Rangers. It was the second win in three trips to the Big Apple for Toronto.






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