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Rangers sneak win past brilliant DiPietro

The New York Rangers' Matt Cullen, right, puts the puck past New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro during a shootout in their hockey game on Monday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 2-1. PHOTO: AP

A brilliant night for Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro ended on a sour note when Matt Cullen scored the only goal of a shootout, giving the Rangers a 2-1 win in a New York showdown on Monday.

DiPietro faced a Rangers bombardment for most of the night and stopped an Islanders record of 56 shots to keep the game balanced at 1-1 until the shootout.

Cullen lifted the puck just inside the right post for the shootout winner, spoiling DiPietro's night and firing up the Rangers' playoff hopes.

"This was a huge game for us," Cullen said. "This was one of those nights when you don't know if the puck is ever going to go into the net."

The Rangers' assault produced their most shots in a game since the 58 they took 11 years ago against Buffalo.

Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves, giving up only a fluky goal when Jason Blake's cross-ice pass glanced off Rangers defenseman Paul Mara's skate and skittered into the net with 1:43 remaining in the first period.

The Rangers equalized when Petr Prucha shoved in a rebound off Jed Ortmeyer's long drive 26 seconds into the third period.

The Rangers moved within two points of a playoff berth with the Madison Square Garden victory that raised their record to 32-27-7 for 71 points.

The Islanders are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 76 points (33-23-10) with eight teams qualifying for the playoffs.

"These are two big points, but we have to build on it," Cullen said. "It makes the next game even more important."

The Islanders host the Rangers on Thursday.

"He [DiPietro] was unbelievable tonight," Cullen said. "He made some amazing saves. But our goalie was very good too, and coming up with those three stops in the shootout won us the game."

Islanders coach Ted Nolan promised a more determined effort from his players on Thursday.

"We know we can play a lot better," Nolan said. "We have to lick our wounds and get ready for the rematch on Thursday. We will come out with a lot more fire."

Penguins impasse

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux declared an impasse Monday in talks with officials about a new arena, increasing odds the club will move, the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette reported.

In a letter to state and city officials, the NHL club's retired superstar player said the team stretched a February deadline in hopes of making a deal to replace the league's oldest arena.

"Unfortunately, we still don't have a deal and are faced with mounting uncertainty that an agreement can be reached in a time frame that is realistic for our organization," the letter stated.

"Therefore, we have no choice but to declare an impasse and to notify NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman that we will aggressively explore relocation," it said.

That opens the door for Kansas City, which has a new arena nearly built without a team. The Penguins reportedly will be offered a sweetheart lease if they leave Pittsburgh, where their lease ends after this season.
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