Lundqvist is stellar as Rangers beat Devils, 3-1

Henrik Lundqvist was spectacular.

Martin Brodeur, not so much.

Lundqvist made 41 saves and the Rangers scored three times in 2:39 of the second period in a 3-1 win over the Devils at Madison Square Garden last night.

It was the first rematch since the two elite goaltenders battled Jan. 12 at the Garden, when the duo faced 96 shots and the Devils won, 1-0, in a shootout.

Lundqvist, who had lost six straight starts and allowed six goals against the Capitals on Thursday, snagged a half-dozen shots with his glove, which had been vulnerable in recent weeks.

"I tried to correct my stance a little bit. Sometimes when you try too hard [to see the puck], you get lower," Lundqvist said. "Sometimes it's better to relax a little bit and get upright. It makes a difference."

He wasn't upright for one of his more amazing saves. With 12:55 left in the third, while on the seat of his pants, he snatched a wrister on a rebound from Mike Mottau, who was six feet away.

"The last two weeks I've been working hard and knew I had to play better,'' Lundqvist said. "It was a good game for me today, a lot of action. We needed to get a win at home. This is a big one for us."

Whenever possible, the Rangers (26-26-7) - who moved into a tie for eighth place in the East with the Flyers - bumped and banged the newest Devil, Ilya Kovalchuk. He nonetheless had a game-high eight shots.

Ryan Callahan shouldered him off the puck at a critical time. Callahan spun around for a long, high shot that flew over Brodeur's shoulder at 8:16 of the second period to make it 2-0. That goal came 1:06 after Marian Gaborik scored his 35th of the season.

"I knew there were people in front, so I just shot it high glove side," Callahan said.

The "Maarrrr-ty" jeers, which had rolled down from the upper reaches of the Garden after Callahan's tally, increased in volume.

Gaborik's tap-in from the crease into an open net off passes from Michael Del Zotto (20th assist) and then Callahan, came with Rob Niedermayer in the box for hooking.

It was Gaborik's sixth goal in five games and the Rangers' fifth score with the man-advantage in two games. Before that, they hadn't cashed in for seven games.

"It's great to start and get a lead. You play better with a lead," Gaborik said, "and we added a couple quick goals and hung in there. Hank was outstanding in the net."

Chris Drury made it 3-0 at 9:59 of the second after Matt Gilroy blocked a shot in the Rangers' zone and followed up. The Rangers had three goals on 12 shots in that period against Brodeur, who finished with 22 saves.

Brandon Prust, who squared off twice with Andrew Peters in the first period (Prust now is tied with Tampa Bay's Zenon Konopka for the league lead in fighting majors with 21), registered his first assist as a Ranger on Drury's ninth goal of the season.

Patrik Elias, in his first game back after suffering a concussion 11 games ago, played on a line with Kovalchuk and Dainius Zubrus, who scored with 8:49 left to make it 3-1 after Elias forced a turnover in the Rangers' zone.

Lundqvist then held off the Devils, who had scored three goals in the last 3:04 to beat the Maple Leafs on Friday night as Brodeur was pulled with two minutes left in regulation.

With 2:16 left, Sean Avery yapped at Kovalchuk from behind during a stoppage, and the Russian jabbed him with his stick before swapping shoves and punches. Each player got four minutes for roughing.

The Rangers improved their record against the Devils to 2-1-1.

"When you can beat one of the best teams in the East,'' Del Zotto said, "it's a huge win for us, a confidence boost."