Blackhawks edge Rangers on Anisimov goal
NEW YORK -- Artem Anisimov scored late in the second period and Scott Darling made 33 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks edged the New York Rangers 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
Anisimov, who spent the first four years of his career with the Rangers, snapped a 1-all tie with his 13th goal of the season. Darling was sharp in sixth consecutive start in place of Corey Crawford, who is unavailable after undergoing an appendectomy on Dec. 3.
Darling made a pair of difficult saves to protect the one-goal lead in the final minutes, denying a Mats Zuccarello one-timer from the slot and a Jimmy Vesey chance from near the crease.
Trevor van Riemsdyk scored the other Blackhawks goal.
Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta stopped 24 shots in his fourth consecutive start and had a shutout streak snapped at 176 minutes. Jesper Fast scored the lone Rangers goal.
After a scoreless first period, van Riemsdyk put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 at 5:18 of the second period. The defenseman jumped into an odd-man rush and beat Raanta to the stick side after taking a pass from Panarin.
Fast tied the game at 1 less than three minutes later on a goal no one seemed to see. Oscar Lindberg's pass banked off the back of the net and into mid-air, and Fast batted it past a confused Darling, although referees never indicated it was a goal.
Upon review, it was determined Fast hit the puck below the crossbar and a goal was awarded.
Anisimov struck with 1:09 remaining in the period to restore the Blackhawks' lead. It was another odd-man rush that featured defensemen Nick Holden and Dan Girardi losing track of Anisimov, who buried a great pass from behind the net by Brian Campbell to make it 2-1.
NOTES: Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews returned from a nine-game absence due to a back injury. ... Chicago D Brent Seabrook was back in the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body injury. ... The Blackhawks scratched RW Jordin Tootoo, D Michal Kempny and D Michal Rozsival. ... Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist served as the backup for the fourth straight game. It's the first time in his career he has been a healthy backup for four consecutive games. ... The Rangers' scratches were LW Rick Nash (groin) and D Ryan McDonagh (flu).