New York Rangers shut out Florida Panthers, 1-0

I think we can officially say the New York Rangers are on a roll now, extending their winning streak to a season-high 5 games by defeating the Florida Panthers, 1-0 at Madison Square Garden last night. While they didn’t explode for 6+ goals like they did in their previous 3 home games, Brandon Dubinsky scored the only goal they needed thanks to stellar play by goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who earned his league-leading 10th shutout of the season, which also tied his career high. With 8 games remaining, the Rangers are in 7th place in the conference and are within striking distance of the 6th place Montreal Canadiens and maybe even the 5th place Tampa Bay Lightning. They’ll have a great opportunity to pick up a couple points when they play the last-place Ottawa Senators at home tomorrow night. Photos by Avi Gerver, ©Madison Square Garden, L.P.

New York’s Steve Eminger gets some air courtesy of Florida’s Sergei Samsonov:

New York’s Marian Gaborik fires a shot on goal:

Florida’s David Booth takes control of the puck after a faceoff with a pack of players on his heels:

The Rangers’ Vinny Prospal checks the Panthers’ Keaton Ellerby into the boards:

New York’s Artem Anisimov and Florida’s Mike Weaver:

A Panther checks the Rangers’ Derek Stepan:

A faceoff between a Panthers player and the Rangers’ Brandon Dubinsky:

Brandon Dubinsky scores the winning goal for the Rangers in the third period:

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist keeps his eye on the puck late in the game, determined to earn his 10th shutout of the season: