To be the man, you have got to beat the man and the New York Rangers (37-13-5), with the 3-0 decision over the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Boston Bruins (34-18-2) are showing more and more every game that they are in fact the team to beat.

‘The King’ Henrik Lundqvist ruled in the cage, recording his NHL-leading seven shutout of the season, turning away 42 opportunities by the high-powered Boston offense. The Blueshirts are now starting to separate themselves from the rest of the competition, as with this victory New York now leads the rest of the East by nine points.

Hank now has 42 shutouts in his career, as the Rangers continue to sacrifice their bodies to win games. In the game against the Bruins New York blocked 22 shots, to continue their unselfish style of play.

Leading the offense was captain Ryan Callahan (23) and young stars Ryan McDonagh (6) and Artem Anisimov (10).  For Cally the goal was his sixth in four games, Anisimov six points (three goals, three assist) in the last six games, while McDonagh has 11 blocked shots in the last three games.

Dan Girardi and Brandon Prust led all players with three blocked shots, while Brian Boyle led the physical play with four hits.

The Rangers will return home to Madison Square Garden to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.  The New York/Chicago game is set to air on the NHL-Networks, with face-off slated for 7:00 p.m.

Written on February 15, 2012