ANAHEIM, Calif. - The New York Rangers see their three-game California road trip as a chance to learn how they measure up against the NHLs best teams.The defending Eastern Conference champions got off to a soaring start on the West Coast.Rick Nash scored his 25th goal, Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves and the Rangers beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Wednesday night for their 11th victory in 12 games.Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello and Dominic Moore also scored for the Rangers, who produced a dominant effort against the overall NHL leaders.Its huge. We talked about it for the last couple of days, Nash said. We had three days off, so we talked about challenging ourselves and using this game as a measuring stick of where were at. So its a huge win for us. Were playing our style and were not hurting ourselves.New York prepared for its Thursday night Stanley Cup finals rematch with the Los Angeles Kings by controlling its matchup with the Ducks, who had won four of the clubs last five meetings.The Rangers have been the NHLs best defensive team over the past month, and Lundqvist combined with his defence to limit Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry to one power-play assist apiece.I think its good for our confidence to know that we can play a really strong game against the best teams in the league, Lundqvist said. Anaheim is very consistent, and thats why theyre up there. They obviously have a lot of skill.Francois Beauchemin scored a power-play goal midway through the third period for the Ducks, who have just one regulation victory in eight games. Beauchemin and defenceman Sami Vatanen committed turnovers that led directly to New York goals.We made some bad turnovers, theres no doubt, Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. We gave them two goals, but theyre a really good team. ... Their speed is very good. The structure of their game is very good. Theyre going to be a tough team to beat.Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 26 shots in his first home start in more than seven years for the Ducks, who re-signed their former backup goalie last month after a seven-year absence.After a scoreless first period, Brassard scored in his third straight game following a nine-game goal drought.Nash scored early in the third period by swatting home the rebound of Kevin Kleins shot from the slot. The power forward has secured the 10th 25-goal season of his career with more than half of the Rangers schedule still to play.Anaheim scored 10 seconds into a power play when Beauchemins big shot from the blue line beat a partially screened Lundqvist. Beauchemin has three goals in five games after a 24-game drought, dating to last season.But Beauchemin gave away the puck moments later to Zuccarello, who beat Bryzgalov for his first goal in 10 games. Moore added an empty-net goal.Were a solid team when we play our best, and its hard to play against us, Zuccarello said. There was really bad ice out there tonight, so you kind of had to just play it safety-first.Bryzgalov was largely solid in a game that brought his career full circle. The Russian goalie was drafted by the Ducks in 2000 and came up through the organization, eventually backing up Jean-Sebastien Giguere on Anaheims Stanley Cup championship team in 2007.Bryzgalov hadnt made a home start for the Ducks since Nov. 7, 2007, shortly before he was waived.I battled hard, said Bryzgalov, who played for four teams in the past seven seasons. Compared to the last game I played, it was much better. I know what Im capable to do.NOTES: The Rangers scored first for the 10th time in 11 games. ... D John Moore replaced Matt Hunwick in the New York lineup. ... Devante Smith-Pelly returned to Anaheims lineup after one game as a healthy scratch. He hasnt scored a goal in 14 games since Dec. 1. Matt Benning Oilers Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Jari Kurri Jersey . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. http://www.hockeyoilersshop.com/jujhar-khaira-jersey/ .C. -- With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career. Bill Ranford Oilers Jersey .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. Mark Fayne Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday.GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Henrik Lundqvist had his game-day face on at practice. He still smiled and answered all the questions thrown at him Monday about the Los Angeles Kings -- the New York Rangers long-awaited opponent in the Stanley Cup finals. "Exciting. Long flight," the star goalie said Monday before he and his teammates headed to California for New Yorks first appearance in the finals since winning the title in 1994. "East Coast-West Coast. Ill look forward to this matchup." If there wasnt already enough pressure on Lundqvist to lead his team to the championship, he is now part of the hype machine heading into Game 1 on Wednesday. Headlines are screaming: "King Henrik vs. the Kings." "Clever," he said with a slight laugh. The Rangers have been waiting since Thursday to find out if they would face the 2012 Stanley Cup-winning Kings or the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the finals. They took two days off before returning to practice on Sunday. Most of the players said they watched at least part of Los Angeles third road Game 7 win of this playoff year that night. So practice on Monday had a bit more focus for the Rangers as they knew exactly who was standing in their way next. "Any team you play at this time of year is a good hockey team, especially a team that has kind of been around the playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals a couple of times in the last few years," forward Derek Stepan said. "This is a very good hockey club, We have a tough challenge in front of us." The Kings returned to Los Angeles after their 5-4 come-from-behind overtime win at Chicago and took Monday off. They have played a record 21 playoff games before the finals -- one more than the Rangers, who eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in six games during the Eastern Conference finals. Before this year, no team that played seven games in each of the first two rounds had reached the finals. Now, both clubs have done it. The Kings taking it a step further with a trio of seven-game series. "When you knew you were playing L.A., the adrenaline started coming a little bit more," Lundqvist said. "Youve been thinking about this ever since you beat Montreal, but now knowing were going to L.A., it was easier to focus on whats coming. "You just try to now come back to the focus and mindset you had last week. Its been nice to get a little break heree and get away from it a little bit because its been that intense.dddddddddddd" Both teams will be back to the grind on Tuesday for media day, leading up to the opener the following night. The Rangers and Kings split two games during the regular season -- with each team winning in the other clubs building -- but they havent seen each other since Los Angeles 1-0 victory at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17. New York opened with a five-game Western road trip as final renovations were being made at the Garden. Its only win during that stretch was a 3-1 victory at Los Angeles on Oct. 7 -- a 28-save performance by Lundqvist. "Great goaltending. Great defence. Great forwards. Great special teams," Kings coach Darryl Sutter provided as a quick scouting report on the Rangers. "Were up against it again." The Rangers know that many, if not most, in the hockey world arent giving them much of a chance to win the Cup. They neither mind nor embrace the role of underdog. They have heard it before, and have just gone about their business. "When you get into the NHL, you know how hard it is to win," forward Brad Richards said. "The underdog thing and the favourite thing really doesnt mean anything in the locker room. You have to go out and play." New York needed seven games to get past division rival Philadelphia in the first round. The Rangers werent expected to beat Pittsburgh from the start, and certainly not after they fell into a 3-1 series deficit. Montreal was coming off a stirring seven-game victory over defending Eastern Conference champion Boston, so odds makers favoured the Canadiens in their matchup against New York, too. But here the Rangers are as the last team standing. "To put it quite simply, were up against the team that won the Stanley Cup two years ago that just beat the defending Stanley Cup champions, that without a doubt is battle-tested," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We know exactly what we have to do. If we want to have a chance, were going to have to bring our best hockey of the year. Its as simple as that. "Weve had a couple of good practices, were going to have another good one tomorrow, and were going to be ready come Wednesday." He added one more thing as he left the media interview tent while wearing his sandals, to go prepare for a cross-country flight. "Bring your shorts," he said. ' ' '