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NEW YORK (AP) -- It was like old times for the New York Rangers.
Mark Messier scored twice and added an assist, while Mike
Richter stopped 31 shots as the New York Rangers beat the Boston
Bruins 5-1 on Sunday night.
|  | | Bruins goalie Kay Whitmore was able to deflect Radek Dvorak's rebound shot. |
Brian Leetch added two assists and stellar play, and Adam Graves
added two assists and six hits.
Coach Mike Keenan stood behind the bench and took it all in.
There was just one problem for Keenan: he was standing behind the
Bruins' bench.
"I figured we'd see Michael on a bench somewhere," Richter
said. "He coaches with a lot of energy."
The Rangers were the ones that came out with all the energy, but
their problems with scoring in the first period at home continued
as Eric Lacroix had a wide open net for a tip-in, but hit the right
post 65 seconds into the game.
"We responded well after Eric hit the post," Leetch said. "We
came back with some good shifts, and we got the lead, which has
been unusual for us lately."
Valeri Kamensky gave the Rangers its first first-period home
goal at 10:06 when he beat rookie goalie Andrew Raycroft with a
screened wrist shot from the right circle.
Raycroft stopped the first six shots he faced, but that was the
end of Raycroft for the night. Keenan yanked him for backup Kay
Whitmore.
"It's a tough situation (Raycroft's) in to be able to come out
of junior hockey and play at this level on a consistent basis,"
Keenan said.
Raycroft was surprised at being pulled.
"I was surprised to see Kay coming out on the ice," Raycroft
said. "I have no idea (why). I didn't see the goal when it went
in. It's out of my control. I just have to go to practice and keep
working hard."
Whitmore became the sacrificial goalie when he gave up four
goals on 33 shots.
Jan Hlavac made it 2-0 for the Rangers when he one-timed the
puck from the slot on a power play with 74 seconds left in the
period.
Theoren Fleury, who was sharply criticized by coach Ron Low
after taking a bad penalty during New York's last loss, made amends
with a short-handed goal at 4:16 of the second period. He picked up
Leetch's clear at Boston's blue line, cut toward the slot and
surprised Whitmore with a low wrist shot.
Fleury is tied with Messier for the team lead with six goals,
and said that the only difference between this season's play and
last season's, when he wound up with just 15 goals, is that the
puck is going in.
"I think I was unlucky last year," Fleury said. "I had my
chances to score last year too, but the shots weren't going in.
Now, they're going in. You can only be snakebit for so long."
Messier added a pair of goals in the third period. He scored a
power-play goal 40 seconds in, and a short shot off a rush at
10:01.
Messier raised his career scoring total to 633, which ranks
sixth all-time and is best among active players.
Richter came within 3:15 of his 23rd career shutout, but Jason
Allison scored a power-play goal when his centering attempt banked
past Richter off defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre.
The win snaps a four-game overall losing streak and a four-game
home losing streak for New York.
"I think in some of the losses, we got beat, and in others, we
beat ourselves," Messier said, "and there's a big difference."
The Bruins lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-6-0-1).
Keenan didn't want to relive the glory days of winning the Stanley
Cup with the Rangers in 1994.
Asked how he felt being back in New York, Keenan said,
"Tonight, not good. Generally speaking, great."
Game notes
Though the building was less than half full, the Rangers
announced their 127th consecutive home sellout crowd at Madison
Square Garden. ...Until Kamensky's goal, the Rangers were outscored
7-0 during the first 20 minutes at home, covering five games. ...
Fleury's goal was his team-leading sixth. ... The game marked Mike
Keenan's 998th NHL game coached. That ties him with Roger Neilson
for sixth place overall in NHL history. Keenan's record is
507-373-117-1.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
NY Rangers Clubhouse
RECAPS
St. Louis 4
Carolina 1
NY Rangers 5
Boston 1
Washington 1
Philadelphia 1
Anaheim 6
Calgary 3
Chicago 3
Minnesota 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 A speedy Theo Fleury scores a short-handed goal for New York.
avi: 403 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mark Messier scores a power-play goal early in the third period.
avi: 403 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Brian Leetch feeds Jan Hlavac for the Rangers' second goal of the game.
avi: 494 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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