New combos key to Rangers' surge

You want your best players on the ice at the end of a game like the one Friday night, with the whole season on the line.

The Rangers had Brandon Prust and Artem Anisimov. Jody Shelley, the third member of that line, was stuck on the bench while Brandon Dubinsky stayed on the ice to close it out.

That is really the essence of how the Rangers, given up for dead 17 days ago, still have a chance to get into the playoffs with one regular-season game remaining, at Philadelphia on Sunday. They are 7-1-1 in the nine games over that 17-day span, and it's no coincidence that the Prust-Anisimov-Shelley line was formed on March 24 in the Garden against the Islanders. Two games later, Anders Eriksson came up from Hartford and replaced Matt Gilroy in the lineup on defense.

Somehow, those two moves may be keys to a fifth straight postseason berth.

Other big keys were on display in Friday's 4-3 win over the visiting Flyers: Henrik Lundqvist held the fort over the final 20 minutes, and Marian Gaborik's fluttering, deflected shot late in the second proved to be the game-winner. Dubinsky was effective and Michal Rozsival was a horse, despite having a puck bounce off him and in.

Those are the mainstays. But coach John Tortorella, whether by intent or sheer luck, has discovered at this late date that it takes all 18 guys - 17 for most of Friday night, with Ryan Callahan's knee acting up in the second - in front of Lundqvist to create the opportunities like the one on Sunday.

"It's not really a hard choice," Marc Staal said of playing the pluggers like Prust and Shelley, both spare-part acquisitions before the trade deadline, and Eriksson, who was signed a month ago and spent a couple of weeks in Hartford before being called up. "Those guys are making big plays for us."

It was Shelley's turn Friday night, scoring his first goal since March 28 of last year and knocking a few Flyers on their fannies. Prust assisted on that one, extending his point streak to five games. Eriksson was a plus-one and has steadied Wade Redden, his defensive partner.

Perhaps it was luck that brought Prust, Shelley and Eriksson into such big roles. Their play is what has kept them there, and what had Prust on the ice in the final minutes.

"It makes you confident when you get that kind of trust from your coach," Prust said. "Our job is to make sure we don't lose that trust, so we keep it simple. That's all we do."

That simple style has led to a simple goal: Win, and get in. It'll take all 18 Rangers in front of Lundqvist, just as it did to get them here.