Staal pays the price in win

PHILADELPHIA -- Marc Staal had a bump on his nose, an ice pack on his left leg and a grin on his face.

"I don't think it's broken; I didn't get it checked out," he said, referring to his nose, after a gutsy performance against the Flyers that included a late first-period high-stick to the face from Braydon Coburn. Bryan McCabe scored on the ensuing five-on-three to tie it at 1, and Staal didn't miss a shift after that in the Rangers' 3-2 shootout win.

"He was battling hard every time in the corners, getting the puck, making plays," rookie Michael Sauer said. "When you see something like that from your leader, you want to go out there and do the same. He got through it. He's a warrior."

The Rangers blocked 23 shots. Ryan McDonagh, the other rookie on defense, talked about a shot that forced him to hobble to the bench and an even more painful play by Staal in the second period.

"Staal made a heck of a block when I was in the box. It probably hurts twice as much as mine right now," McDonagh said.

All-Star defenseman Staal, given an "A" on his sweater this season, played a game-high 34:01.

"He is part of our leadership group and he's grown into that," coach John Tortorella said. "He's the kind of guy who wants that. But in the back-to-back [Monday night], we'll have to get more guys involved and hope they accept the responsibility."

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No doubt

Wojtek Wolski, who scored the winner in the second round of the shootout on a tuck-in that appeared to hit the inside of the net and slide across the line, said he was sure he had scored despite a review. "I saw it cross the line, no doubt in my mind," said Wolski, 4-for-9 in shootouts. Erik Christensen (5-for- 8) also scored in the shootout.