Lundqvist makes 28 saves, shuts out Isles

It must have been a boring 10 minutes for Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers goalie didn't see a shot on goal for the first 10 minutes, 17 seconds of the second period, but he was not lulled to sleep.

"When you go through stretches where you don't see a lot of action, you just try to be ready," Lundqvist said. "You know they're going to come."

When the shots finally did come, he was ready.

Lundqvist made 28 saves in his third shutout of the season and Carl Hagelin scored two goals as the Rangers beat the Islanders, 3-0, Monday night at the Garden. It was the fifth straight win for the Rangers (22-8-4), who moved to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

The Garden crowd of 18,200 roared as Lundqvist made a pair of saves when the Islanders were on the power play with six minutes left in the second period and then another pair of saves about a minute later to preserve a one-goal lead. "That's the thing, I don't try to think too much -- I just try to stop the puck and do my thing," Lundqvist said.

Hagelin put the Rangers on the board at 5:14 of the second period after he received a cross-crease pass from Ryan Callahan, who received an entry pass from Michael Del Zotto. Hagelin's shot went off the back of Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

"When [Del Zotto] did that toe drag on the guy, I knew one of us was going to be open," Hagelin said. "A lot of guys were staring at the puck and I saw [Callahan] winning that battle. I moved a bit quicker toward the net and then just popped out. It's always a good feeling when you get those."

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Hagelin scored his second goal -- and sixth of the season -- at 6:32 of the third period on a pass from behind the net by Del Zotto. Marian Gaborik extended his scoring streak to five games with an empty-netter for his 22nd goal.

Staal has first contact practice

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal is one step closer to making his season debut. Staal, who is recovering from the lingering effects of a concussion he suffered from a hit by his brother Eric of Carolina last Feb. 22, took part in contact drills in practice for the first time Monday.

"I feel really good. It's been a long time," Staal said, according to the team website. "I have been feeling really good the past couple of weeks, and it was the next step in getting back to playing. I did some battle drills down low today, took some hits, and felt good."

There is no timetable for the 24-year-old All-Star's return.

Blue notes

Sean Avery and Erik Christensen were healthy scratches. It was the eighth straight scratch for Avery and fourth for Christensen. Jeff Woywitka (ankle) missed his fourth straight game.