Leafs end Rangers' win streak at five

It probably was pushing the Rangers' luck to expect that Brandon Prust's first-period fight would augur yet another victory. Riding a five-game winning streak, with 12 victories in their last 14 games, seven straight decisions at home -- and that 7-0 record whenever Prust partook of first-period fisticuffs -- the Rangers nevertheless were done in by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2, Monday night.

Toronto's early 3-0 lead, on goals by Cody Franson, Tim Connolly and Joffrey Lupul, not only stood up, but the Rangers (15-6-3) took some physical lumps during the frantic third period. Seconds after defenseman Michael Sauer was flattened by Dion Phaneuf's shoulder check along the boards with 4:42 to play, defenseman Michael Del Zotto went down -- and stayed down for a while -- when he smashed into the end boards after getting tangled with center David Steckel.

"It took out my legs and was kind of a scary play,'' Del Zotto said. "I'll move forward.''

Steckel's empty-net goal with 4.6 seconds left, after Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson averted overtime with three last-minute saves, accounted for the final score.

So what had been status quo for the Rangers turned into a slightly different state of affairs. Only 2:05 after the opening faceoff, Prust scrapped with Toronto's Jay Rosehill, three inches taller and 23 pounds heavier than the 6-foot, 192-pound Prust.

But Toronto was flying and, only four minutes later, took a 1-0 lead when Franson sent a shot through traffic and past goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

"We knew going in there they had speed,'' Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi said. "We just couldn't match it there in the first for a little bit."

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Far more than Prust's tough-guy act, the fairly spectacular work of Lundqvist, who made a series of catlike catches and swats in facing unrelenting pressure through the second half of the period, was the Rangers' temporary deliverance from deeper trouble.

But just as the Rangers appeared to be gnawing away at Toronto's control, Sauer lost sight of the puck at his feet on a faceoff to Lundqvist's right and Connolly slipped it past the helpless goalie.

For Monday night's game, Toronto brought its players' fathers on the trip, dressed them in Maple Leaf jerseys and gave them seats of honor at Madison Square Garden. But the Rangers still had the usual overwhelming majority of vocal support, and the joint was fired into a frenzy when the Rangers scored twice within 1:32 midway through the second period to pull within 3-2.

Center Artem Anisimov converted Prust's pass from behind the net at 13:00 and, with the Rangers on a five-on-three power play, Marian Gaborik, perched on the goal's right doorstep, tapped in Derek Stepan's pass from the left boards at 14:32.

With nominal starter James Reimer having returned Saturday from an 18-game absence because of a concussion, Gustavsson (9-5-0) produced 30 saves for the Leafs.

Still, the Rangers' recent resilience has given their fans hope, leading to coach John Tortorella being asked lately if his team has begun to cement the perception that it is among the league's elite.

"Wrong question,'' Tortorella said. "We have a ways to go and are just going to continue to work.''