Familiar Rangers Breed Content : Stanley Cup: Messier, Anderson gang up on Canucks to score short-handed goal and lead 3-1 victory.

Between them, Ranger center Mark Messier and left wing Glenn Anderson have 10 Stanley Cup rings, 458 postseason points and an unshakable trust in each other.

That’s why, when he intercepted a pass by Trevor Linden during a Canuck power play Thursday and broke up ice, Messier knew Anderson would be there to finish what Messier had started.

“We’ve played long enough to know that he would be on my tail,” Messier said of his former Edmonton Oiler teammate after New York had beaten the Canucks, 3-1, to tie their Stanley Cup final series, 1-1. “I knew once the puck went by the net, if it somehow got in front, he’d find a way to get there.”

Anderson found a way to poke the puck past Kirk McLean at 11:42 of the second period and give the Rangers a lead they defended with the help of steely nerves and the metal crossbar. They needed a last-minute save by Mike Richter and an empty-net goal by Brian Leetch with four seconds left to close out the Canucks.

With that as a send-off, the Rangers’ trip to Vancouver for Games 3 and 4, Saturday and Tuesday, promised to be a happy one. If not for Anderson’s goal, the trek West--their first trip outside the Eastern time zone since late March--would certainly have been more tedious.

After losing the series opener, 3-2, in overtime Tuesday, the Rangers believed they couldn’t afford to have to win twice at the Pacific Coliseum to stay alive. They played the Canucks to a standoff in the first 30 minutes Thursday, after a rare goal-mouth dash by former Canuck Doug Lidster 6:22 into the game was matched by Sergio Momesso’s sharp-angle shot from the right side at 14:04.

“There was a sense of determination, for sure. I don’t know if that is translated by some as a sense of urgency,” Ranger Coach Mike Keenan said. “It was more a sense of commitment and effort. I thought the effort was exceptionally strong in the first game, and we deserved to win that.”

Anderson and Messier, who rank second and fourth, respectively, among alltime playoff scorers, would not accept a loss Thursday. Their teammates sensed that and expected them to make the difference, even though Messier was scoreless in Game 1 and Anderson had scored only twice in his previous 17 playoff games.

“We were sitting at lunch today and Adam Graves said (about Anderson), ‘That’s one of the best money players in the game. Before this is over, he’s going to score a goal,’ ” Richter said.

Playing aggressively as the Rangers were killing a tripping penalty against Graves, Messier and Anderson dashed up ice on a clear breakaway. Canuck goalie McLean came out of his crease to poke the puck away from Messier, but it bounced off Messier’s leg and stayed around the net.

“I tried to force my way into the play and avoid (defenseman Jyrki) Lumme backchecking on me,” Anderson said. “I just went to the net as hard as I could. Mess fed it out to me and I had an empty net. . . .

“There’s no doubt that playing with a great player such as Messier, he definitely tends to bring your game up to another level. He’s like a Wayne Gretzky or a Doug Gilmour or a Mario Lemieux.”

Seeing the two combine, winger Stephane Matteau said, “was a special moment for the Rangers. They’ve done it so many times. Even if Glenn Anderson only has two goals in the playoffs, he’s a plus for us from the physical standpoint. His statistics don’t show how well he’s playing.”

The Canucks played as well or better than they did Tuesday. Pavel Bure was more involved in the offense and had several good chances, including a blast that clanged off the junction of the post and crossbar one minute into the second period. Cliff Ronning hit the crossbar later in the second period, and Greg Adams did the same about two minutes into the third.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s a good sign,” Bure said of the crossbar hat trick. “In the first game we were awful, but right now we are playing much better.”

Said Canuck Coach Pat Quinn: “The game was much more even (than Game 1), and we happened to make an error. I believe it’s going to be a good series. . . . We’re not going to make it easy for anybody to go by us.”