NEW YORK (Ticker) -- On a historic night for captain Mark Messier, the New York Rangers continued to win back their fans.
Messier tallied twice and moved past Gordie Howe into sole possession of second place on the NHL's all-time scoring list as the Rangers continued their strong home start with a 3-0 blanking of the Dallas Stars.
With his family in attendance, Messier tied Howe just 97 seconds into the second period. After leaving a drop pass for Alexei Kovalev, he crashed the net, got past defenseman Don Sweeney and tipped Kovalev's shot past goaltender Marty Turco.
After the announcement was made, the crowd of 17,625 at Madison Square Garden gave Messier a standing ovation.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Gordie," Messier said. "My dad was affliated with the Detroit Red Wings back in the 1950s and early 1960s. He attended some training camps, he played with Gordie in some exhibition games. So he had a firsthand account of Gordie as a hockey player. Gordie Howe in our household was a really well-respected hockey player as well as a person. Growing up with that and then passing him at that moment, there is a little trepidation because it seems like Wayne (Gretzky) and Gordie are synonymous with each other."
"Mark is the complete package," New York defenseman Brian Leetch added. "It's leadership. It's physical play. It's relationships with his teammates, his love for the game and all of those things go into longevity and being able to have an impact on a lot of individuals and a lot of teams. The teams change a lot around Mark and he's been able to have an influence on every one of them."
The Rangers held on to the lead with physical play from all four lines and strong goaltending from Jussi Markkanen, who made 17 of his 33 saves in the third period.
Matthew Barnaby doubled the lead late in the second and Messier moved past Howe with a shorthanded empty-net tally. Set up by Kovalev - one of three remaining Rangers from the 1994 Stanley Cup championship team - the 42-year-old scored from just outside the blue line with five seconds remaining.
Messier pumped his fists and raised his hands before receiving another standing ovation. The two goals gave him 1,851 points and the officials allowed his teammates to leave the bench and celebrate in the Dallas zone.
"To put myself in a position to pass him, I think it's due to longevity, good fortune around me and being able to play long enough to accumulate individual statistics," Messier said. "But it wasn't something I set out to do."
"I told him to wait until I got back into the lineup," said Leetch, who played in his second game since returning from an ankle injury. "I came close to getting in on it. I was on the ice at the end but I was not involved in the goal."
Markkanen was pressed into action after Mike Dunham was unable to go due to a groin injury. Making his home debut and second start for the Rangers, he preserved his sixth career shutout with stops on Brenden Morrow and rookie Antti Miettinen in the final seven minutes.
Messier added to a legacy that includes five Stanley Cups with Edmonton and one with New York that ended a 54-year drought. He notched his 500th career goal at Madison Square Garden while still a Ranger nearly eight years ago, guaranteed victory over New Jersey in Game Six of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals and has 238 goals and 417 assists with New York.
"I don't think there is another adjective to describe Mark," New York coach Glen Sather said. "To do what he has done is a testimony to the way he takes care of himself and the way he loves the game. You can't come to the rink every day for the number of games he has and not love the game."
"I wish it wasn't against us," Dallas winger Bill Guerin said. "But everybody in the league has to feel happy for him. He's been the complete package for 25 years. He's a real physical specimen and he keeps going and going and he still has the drive."
Playing in his 633rd game with the Rangers and 1,691st of his career, Messier leads the team with six goals this season. Howe totaled 1,850 points in 1,767 games over a 26-year career that ended with Hartford in 1980 - Messier's first season in the NHL. For the third straight game at the Garden, the Rangers got on the board first.
After taking the puck, Kovalev shot from the slot and Messier tipped the drive past Turco.
A solid defensive effort led to New York's second goal. Defenseman Greg de Vries blocked a shot and connected with Barnaby, who froze Turco before putting a wrist shot in the net.
The Rangers took a two-goal lead and a standing ovation into the second intermission but had to work to protect the lead in the final period. Just 74 seconds into the period, former Ranger Rob DiMaio rang a shot off the post.
Nearly six minutes into the period, the Rangers had to kill off a four-minute power-play as defenseman Boris Mironov was handed a double minor for high sticking.
Markkanen, whose first start was a 5-0 loss at Columbus on October 11, dove to deny Morrow and lucked out when a puck got by him and hit the left post.
"I was very happy with the way I played and how the guys played in front of me," Markkanen said. "I was a little lucky there in the third but I'll take it. We got an early lead and tried to keep it, especially knowing how we lost the last game."
The 28-year-old also had a shot go off his mask before Messier moved past Howe.
