New York Rangers defeat defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2

Last night the New York Rangers passed an important litmus test for their season by defeating the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers’ Brandon Dubinsky (2 goals) and Henrik Lundqvist (33 saves) had stellar nights, and their defense did its part by tallying an impressive 33 blocked shots. Ryan Callahan extended his point streak to 7 games with his two assists. Their next game will be Thursday night against the Flyers in Philadelphia. Photos by Avi Gerver, ©Madison Square Garden, L.P.

New York’s Ryan Callahan (#24) bats the puck away from Chicago’s Patrick Sharp and Tomas Kopecky:

Ranger Derek Stepan checks Blackhawk Patrick Kane:

The Rangers’ Brandon Prust attempts to score on Blackhawks goalie Marty Turco:

New York’s Ruslan Fedotenko and Chicago’s Brent Seabrook:

Faceoff in the Rangers zone:

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers alternate captain Ryan Callahan and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews:

New York’s Ryan Callahan checks a Chicago player into the boards:

The Rangers’ Brandon Dubinsky, who had two goals in the game, and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews:

Brandon Dubinsky celebrates the second of his two goals with teammates Artem Anisimov, Ryan Callahan, Michal Rozsival and Michael Del Zotto:

Rangers head coach John Tortorella and assistant coach Mike Sullivan react after a penalty is called against Dan Girardi with 26 seconds left in the game. The penalty created a 2 man advantage for Chicago (because Chicago pulled their goalie for an extra attacker), but the Rangers survived their opponent’s push for a tying goal.

The Rangers skate off the ice after the victory: