Rangers win 7-0 (again!) as Callahan scores 4 goals in shutout of Flyers

For the third time this season at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers trounced their opponent, 7-0, this time against the conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers yesterday afternoon. They previously accomplished the feat on December 12 against the Washington Capitals and again on January 19 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. As in their win over the Leafs, a Ranger scored 4 goals. This time, it was third-year rising star Ryan Callahan, who earned his first career hat trick. Callahan’s offensive outburst overshadowed the performance of rookie Mats Zuccarello, who scored twice for his first career multi-goal game, an accomplishment that would earn him the leading headline in any other game. On the other end of the ice, Henrik Lundqvist recorded his league-leading 9th shutout of the season, the 33rd of his career. Photos by Avi Gerver, ©Madison Square Garden, L.P.

New York’s Ryan Callahan (right) celebrates his second goal with teammate Vinny Prospal, who earned an assist on the play:

Callahan (right) celebrates his hat trick goal with Artem Anisimov…

…leading to an unusually large flurry of hats on the ice to commemorate the fan favorite’s first career hat trick:

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist gets screened by a jumping Danny Briere:

Lundqvist received plenty of help from his teammates, who rank second in the league in blocked shots. Here’s a nice one by Marc Staal (can you spot the puck?)…

…and Dan Girardi:

New York’s Brian Boyle takes a punch from Philadelphia enforcer and former teammate Jody Shelley:

The Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello celebrates the first of his two goals with teammates Ruslan Fedotenko and Michael Sauer:

Lundqvist makes a save late in the game, preserving his 9th shutout of the season. With one more shutout over the final 14 game stretch, Lundqvist would match the career best 10 shutouts he earned in the 2007-08 season.