Teams from Denver haven’t fared well in the past few days.

                The Broncos were pummeled on Sunday, and on Tuesday, the red-hot Colorado Avalanche were soundly outplayed at Madison Square Garden, as Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, surrounded by trade rumors, set the tone, scoring the first two goals in a 5-1 victory. A third period assist gave Callahan his first three-point night of the season and he heard the cheers.

                "It's part of playing in New York" said Callahan. "The fans are great; it's part of the mystique of the Garden. It's something that I love."

                   In winning their fourth straight game for the first time this season, the Rangers (31-23-3) blitzed Semyon Varlamov, starting from the first few shifts, forcing him to make five saves and just missing an early goal when Daniel Carcillo’s slapper from the left side hit the post at 3:20.

                  The pressure continued with three shots on a power play at 6:38 with Erik Johnson in the box, and by the halfway point of the first, the shots were 14-2. Finally, at 14:16, Carl Hagelin picked up a loose puck on the left side of the neutral zone and broke in on a 2 on 1 with Callahan, who took the pass and beat Varlamov with a backhander. It was his first goal since Jan. 19.

                 A little over three minutes later, the Rangers battled around the net and Brad Richards swept the puck to Callahan in the slot, and he fired past Varlamov’s stick for No. 2 on the night and eleventh of the season. Callahan just missed his first hat trick of the season and third of his career with just over eight minutes left on a wraparound.

             In all, the Rangers launched 43 shots on Varlamov, including 20 in the first period.

              It was quite a comedown for the Avs, who had won four straight, nine of 11, and were 15-5-1 against the East and 8-1-1 against the Metro Division. And the Rangers were just 5-4 against the Central Division, and 8-9 against Western Conference teams.  

             Early in the second, Colorado (36-15-5) grabbed some momentum. Jan Hejda’s point shot hit the far post and the rebound was swept out to Rick Nash for a breakaway, but Varlamov stopped the shot with his right pad.

                With Dan Girardi in the box, Henrik Lundqvist, who had allowed two goals or fewer in nine of his last 10, gloved a rising wrister from Nathan MacKinnon, but was beaten by Gabriel Landeskog at 6:37, near the end of the man-advantage to cut the lead to 2-1.

                The response came quickly.  Anton Stralman’s shot for the right point eluded Varlamov at 7:30 for the defenseman’s first goal of the year and restored the two-goal lead.

               The Blueshirts couldn’t connect on their third power play---and slid to 0-for the last 14---but the other side of the special teams was spectacular, providing a huge turning point, killing a 5-on-3 penalty kill for 1:50, when Girardi followed Chris Kreider into the box at 16:57.

               Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal, who were out for the entire time, deflected a few passes, Dom Moore knocked a puck into the zone and burned seconds battling down ice, and Lundqvist came up with several saves at the end, including a final stop on Matt Duchene in close.

               In the third, Derick Brassard, who assisted on Stralman’s goal, ended the suspense. He upped the lead to 4-1 at 1:58 on a sharp-angle shot from the left post that glanced off Ryan O’Reilly’s skate and through Varlamov’s pads. Mats Zuccarello, who made the pass from behind the net, was awarded his second assist, and is tied for the team lead with 41 points with Richards, who scored with 1:19 to play.

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