Rangers beat Jets for fourth straight win

Derek Stepan is stepping out, no pun intended.

That was coach John Tortorella's postgame assessment Sunday night after the second-year center scored midway through the second period on the power play and threaded a pass to Marian Gaborik for a goal on a two-on-one in the third as the Rangers finished a six-game homestand with their fourth straight win, beating the Winnipeg Jets, 3-0.

"Some guys, you see their game is coming," Tortorella said of Stepan. "The game is clearer to him. I think he's allowing himself to play."

Playing between Gaborik, who added an empty-net goal with 1.1 seconds left, and Artem Anisimov, who has been moved from center to left wing, has been bountiful for Stepan.

"We all create space for each other," said Stepan, who left the University of Wisconsin to turn pro last year. "Gabby, I don't know how he does some of the things he does. And me and Artie, we're finding ourselves. I feel like tonight we connected all the dots."

With Gaborik's two goals and an assist on Stepan's goal, the right wing has the team lead with 13 points in 13 games. He looks like the sniper the Rangers remember from two seasons ago, when he had 40 goals and 82 points.

And Martin Biron, who earned his third victory of the season subbing for Henrik Lundqvist, stopped 23 shots for his first shutout as a Ranger in the past two seasons and 27th of his career. He hadn't had a shutout since Oct. 31, 2009, when he made 38 saves for the Islanders against the Sabres. "That was early in the year, too," said Biron, 34. "I used to play it down [shutouts], but not anymore."

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Biron also was in net for the 2-1 win in Winnipeg on Oct. 24, stopping 27 shots, and for the 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Halloween. He has a 0.95 GAA and a .963 save percentage.

"Both teams looked a little sluggish at first," said Tortorella, who was pleased with the 4-1-1 homestand, "and when we did have breakdowns, Marty was just so steady, he settles the team down."

It was sloppy and scoreless until Stepan, who had two assists in Saturday's 5-3 win over Montreal, one-timed a shot from the lower left circle that zipped over Ondrej Pavelec (24 saves) for his second goal of the season.

Tortorella said Anisimov, who had been bounced from the No. 2 line with Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky to the No. 4 line this season, was a critical defensive presence on the new line. But Anisimov, who notched two assists, senses the offensive potential. "We're holding on to the puck, looking to make plays, not just dumping it in," he said.

So after a long preseason in Europe and a 2-2-2 start, the Rangers (7-3-3) are in a bit of a routine. "It's hard when you go on the road for that amount of time because sometimes there's a let-down feeling that we're home and it's going to be a lot easier," Biron said. "There was none of that. It was a lot of hard work that paid off in the end."