Rangers stay hot, tie Lightning for ninth entering break

By Bud L. Ellis

The New York Rangers spotted the Tampa Bay Lightning two goals and 20 minutes on Sunday.

Then the Rangers took off. Four goals in a 12:38 span of the second period, closing the pre-Olympic part of their schedule with a 5-2 victory at Madison Square Garden.

Sean Avery’s penalty shot 100 seconds into the second period jump-started the Rangers, who enter the Olympics with victories in three of their past four games. The win also ties New York with the Lightning for ninth place in the Eastern Conference at 63 points, one point behind eighth-place Montreal and one point ahead of 11th-place Atlanta.

After Avery’s goal made it 2-1, Vinny Prospal tied the game at 6:07 of the second. Erik Christensen broke the tie with the first of his two goals at 12:06, and he scored again 1:46 later to make it 4-2.

Chris Drury scored an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left for the Rangers, who return to action March 2 at Ottawa.

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Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 4:26 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Chris Drury, Erik Christensen, Madison Square Garden, Montreal Canadians, National Hockey League, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Sean Avery, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vinny Prospal