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NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Defenseman Brian Leetch scored 51 seconds into overtime and Daniel Blackburn made 26 saves for his first NHL shutout as the New York Rangers cooled off the Calgary Flames with a 1-0 victory. Leetch snapped the scoreless deadlock with his second goal of the season. Mikael Samuelsson passed the puck from the right faceoff circle to Mark Messier along the goal line. A streaking Leetch redirected Messier's centering feed just inside the left goalpost, giving New York its second overtime victory and first shutout of the season. "Tom Poti and I were on a change," said Leetch, who notched his seventh career overtime winner - the most by a defenseman in NHL history. "So Samuelsson and Messier were trying to kill some time in the zone. We just came in late and I went to the far post." "We had a little more room 4-on-4 being out there with Brian," Messier said. "You know he's going to be coming to the net. Samuelsson had a pretty good chip, keeping the puck in, and found me behind the net with some speed, and I was able to find Brian." The Rangers have beaten the Flames in overtime in three of the last four meetings. Blackburn stopped 12 shots in the first period, four in the second and 10 in the third. He started in place of Mike Richter, who was kicked in the head in Tuesday's win over Edmonton and is listed as day-to-day. At 19 years, 171 days, Blackburn became the third-youngest goalie in NHL history to record a shutout. Harry Lumley of the Detroit Red Wings was the youngest at 18 years, 65 days, followed by Tom Barrasso of Buffalo at 18 years, 293 days. Blackburn performed the feat with his family in attendance. "Whenever my family comes, I always want to play my best and put on a good performance for them," he said. "Tonight just went a little better than most." The Flames had a chance to extend their four-game unbeaten streak with 1:52 left in regulation. While shorthanded, Chris Drury deflected Scott Nichol's pass on the rush, but Blackburn got a piece of the puck and it glanced off the right post. "Their forward made a great pass across and I just dove in desperation and managed to get enough of it to put it off the post," Blackburn said. "And luckily one of our guys was there to pick it up." Dury, who has the Flames' only shorthanded goal, was trying for his third straight game-winner. "I thought we were going to win there with a minute left," Calgary's Jarome Iginla said. "Fortunately, we got a point out of it, which is important. It will count, but it still feels pretty sour to lose that game." Calgary failed to become the second team to beat all three New York-area teams in consecutive games. The Flames began their five-game trip with wins over the Islanders and New Jersey. However, Calgary earned at least a point in its eighth straight game, going 3-0-2-3 since a 4-0 defeat at Detroit on October 21. New York improved to 4-5-1-0 at home and has won consecutive games for just the second time this season. The Rangers also claimed back-to-back contests on October 26-28. Just after Blackburn stopped Drury's shorthanded attempt, Calgary's Jamie McLennan made a glove save on Pavel Bure's slap shot from the right circle. Earlier on the power play, McLennan denied Radek Dvorak with the heel of his skate and kicked away the rebound. McLennan finished with 34 saves. "It was just a back door," he said of the game-winner. "I don't know if it was a missed assignment. I got to play the shot. I thought I got a chunk of it but not enough to keep it out. "We got a point, but it's not a satisfying point, really. I think we had some decent momentum. Drury hit the post with a minute left shorthanded. If that goes in it's a different game, obviously." |
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