Rangers win fifth-straight in dominance over Maple Leafs, 7-2

October 12, 9:30 PMNew York Rangers ExaminerRob Cristino

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Brashear and Orr brawl, get a cheer from the MSG crowd (AP Photo).

In an Original Six matchup, the New York Rangers dominated the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-2, to successfully complete back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers of course took it to a tired Anaheim Ducks team on Sunday afternoon, shutting out one of the top teams in the Western Conference, 3-0.

In a similar style of play as compared to the win over the Ducks, the Rangers started out strong in the opening period against the Leafs, then played poorly in the second, but used a very impressive third period to bury the Maple Leafs by scoring four unanswered goals.

The Rangers have now outscored opponents 12-3 in the third period this season.

After five games, the Leafs are still looking for their first victory of the 2009-10 season and leave New York with a record of 0-4-1; meanwhile, the Rangers continued to play well, especially in the third period, on their way to a fifth-straight win.

The Rangers took advantage of an early two-man advantage with a power play goal at 2:09 in the first period. It was Ryan Callahan who found the loose puck down low and took a whack at it, before Toronto's Luke Schenn helped the Rangers out by accidentally sweeping the puck over the goal line.

Wade Redden scored his first goal of the season, after being setup beautifully by Vaclav Prospal from behind the net at 8:08. Prospal once again showed his great vision on the ice, putting the puck right on Redden's stick, before Redden roofed a shot past Vesa Toskala. With the assist, Prospal has a five game point scoring streak.

Brandon Dubinsky collected his second assist of the night on the Redden goal.

The inevitable took place midway through the first period after Donald Brashear put a hit on former Rangers' enforcer Colton Orr. The heavy weights both exchanged blows in a fight that should be considered a draw, which got a big cheer from the MSG crowd.

The Leafs got a goal back when Alexei Ponikarovsky chipped a loose puck over a downed Henrik Lundqvist. The goal stood, despite goalie interference, when Lee Stempniak was pushed into Lundqvist by Michal Rozsival.

Just 0:26 into the second period, the Rangers struck with a goal from Dan Girardi. Chris Drury had won the faceoff in the offensive zone cleanly and got the puck to the point, where Girardi let fire a shot past a screened Toskala.

Jason Blake scored a power play goal for the Leafs late in the second period, cutting the Rangers lead to 3-2. After being outshot by the Leafs 13-7 in the second, it looked like the Rangers were on the verge of a collapse.

However, the Rangers did exactly what they had to do at the start of the third period, scoring two quick goals. The first goal came from a Sean Avery backhander (his first goal of the season) and the second from Marian Gaborik (his fifth of the season). Gaborik now has a six game point scoring streak, showing his dangerous presence in each of the first six games of the season.

Girardi put the icing on the cake with his second goal of the game, giving the Rangers a 6-2 lead at 13:41 (the first two-goal game of his career). Both Artem Anisimov and Gaborik were credited with assists on the goal.

Avery then netted his second goal of the game at 18:03 (a power play goal), giving New York eight players with two points in the victory.

The Rangers will next host the L.A. Kings on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM.