Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Cam Talbot flustered the Flyers again and Martin St. Louis reached a milestone, as the New York Rangers went to Philadelphia in the opener of a home-and-home set and left with a 3-0 victory.
Talbot hadn't played since making 31 saves in a 2-0 triumph over the Flyers on Nov. 19 at Madison Square Garden and on Friday turned aside all 26 shots he faced to give the Rangers a third win in their last four tries. All three of those wins have come via shutout, as Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots in 5-0 win over Montreal five days ago.
St. Louis notched a goal and an assist to reach 1,000 career points. Dan Boyle and Rick Nash also scored for the Rangers, while Derek Stepan assisted on all three goals.
Steve Mason made 21 saves for the Flyers, who have lost three in a row and are 1-6-1 in their last eight.
"We're definitely in a rut here," said Mason. "There is still a lot of time to make up room, but you can't let this keep sliding like this. It's unacceptable, it's embarrassing and we have to get going on a roll here."
The teams will meet again Saturday afternoon in New York.
Talbot stopped all eight shots he faced in the first period and the Rangers cashed in on a power play just over six minutes into the contest to grab a 1-0 lead. Stepan kept the puck alive in the Philadelphia zone at the right point and swept a pass to the left point for Boyle, who rifled a shot past a screened Mason.
St. Louis picked up an assist on the first goal, then scored his ninth of the season at 4:14 of the second to reach the milestone. Stepan again factored into the goal with a shot from the right circle that Mason stopped. The rebound, though, caromed into the low slot for an unchecked St. Louis, who snapped it home.
"It's always great when you achieve something, but I don't think it crosses your mind when you try and play in this league," said St. Louis about reaching 1,000 points. "To get a thousand, it's a great accomplishment. I'm not going to hide my feelings, I'm proud of that. To do it on a win, do it on a goal, I think it makes it special and the boys really played well today."
The Rangers added to their lead 5 1/2 minutes into the third period after Chris Kreider was hit with a double-minor for high-sticking. Less than a minute into the penalty kill, Stepan led a 3-on-1 rush and sent a pass from the left wing into the right circle for Nash, who one-timed a shot into the net for his 16th goal of the season.
Talbot, after stopping seven shots in the second period, turned aside 11 in the third to complete his fifth career shutout.
"Most of the shots were from the outside and the guys did a great job of watching out and letting me see pretty much every puck," said Talbot.
Game Notes
In 16 seasons with the Rangers, Tampa Bay and Calgary, St. Louis has 379 goals and 621 assists ... Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a separated shoulder. The defenseman picked up an assist on the Rangers' final goal ... The Rangers have posted three shutouts in a four-game span for the first time since registering three consecutive shutouts from Feb. 4-10, 1973 ... The Flyers were 0-for-6 on the power play, while the Rangers converted once in their six chances with the man-advantage.
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