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Fleury, Penguins blank Rangers

Feb 22, 2012 - 4:20 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to shut out the Eastern Conference's top team, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-0 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Fleury had six saves in the first period, 12 in the second and stopped nine shots in the third for his third shutout of the season and 22nd of his career.

Evgeni Malkin and Steve Sullivan scored for the Penguins, who started a three- game homestand with their second win in a row over the Rangers.

"That was our first complete game, first 60-minute game in a long time," said Sullivan. "One of our better games this year."

Henrik Lundqvist allowed two goals on nine shots in the second period, but had 11 saves in both of the other periods in a hard-luck loss. New York leads the conference with 81 points and fell for just the third time in 10 games this month (7-3).

Fleury's 22 shutouts matched Tom Barrasso's franchise record, set between the 1988 and 2000 seasons. It was his first shutout since November 21 in a 5-0 win over the Islanders.

Malkin beat Lundqvist on a breakaway 1:05 into the second period, scoring the only goal the Penguins would need.

He hustled to pick up a tipped pass near the left boards and raced across the ice, shifting to his backhand in front of the net and flipping the puck over a sprawled Lundqvist's left pad.

"He's one of the best in that position," said Lundqvist. "I tried to be patient but he just kept dragging, dragging, dragging and I didn't have enough push when I went down."

Later in the period, Fleury preserved the 1-0 lead with a glove save on Artem Anisimov's backhand from the right side. Sullivan then made it 2-0 on a power play with a slap shot through Matt Cooke's screen at the 11:14 mark.

Earlier, Lundqvist's 11 saves in the first period included a shoulder stop on Cooke's shorthanded wrister from low on the right side after Ryan Callahan's turnover at the blue line.

Game Notes

The Penguins beat the Rangers 4-1 in New York on January 19 to snap a four- game losing streak in the series, including two previous losses this season...The Rangers are 11-4-1 versus the Atlantic Division this season. They play at the Islanders on Friday...Pittsburgh's three-game homestand ends with two games this weekend against the Lightning and Blue Jackets.