New York Rangers Grab 50th Win of the Season Over New Jersey Devils
1. 85. 6. 95. Final
FIRST PERIOD: The New York Rangers were under fire in their own zone as the New Jersey Devils got a few early chances in. Nevertheless, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was on point, quickly cutting down on angles and beating the devils to the pass for a huge save. In the Devils zone, Mats Zuccarello (34) skated in and scooped up the puck to find Rick Nash (42) in the crease who tipped in the first goal of the game at 5:10, Keith Yandle (44) adding an assist. Off a face-off win, Yandle (6) received the puck and fired it from the blue line through traffic to score his first goal as a Blueshirt. The Rangers gained the two-goal lead at 11:59, Chris Kreider (23) and Derek Stepan (38) picking up assists. Seconds later something rare happened: Tanner Glass (4) (Glass!!!) played the puck well with a gorgeous set up for Dominic Moore (8) to bury the puck in the net, Jesper Fast (8) logging an assist at 12:24 as Devils replaced goalie Cory Schneider with Keith Kinkaid. Later at 14:12, New Jersey got the first power play, Derick Brassard taking a trip to the box for holding. The Rangers held on to the 3-0 lead despite being outshot 13-8, Nash commenting that the score didn’t indicate their play, that they could do better in the next period.
New York Rangers
SECOND PERIOD: And indeed the Rangers did do better this period by picking up the offense as Fast got a couple good looks, one of his shots ringing off the post. In the other end of the rink, Lundqvist maintained his focus, stopping Patrik Elias with a huge chance at the left post, the rebound bouncing to the front and a wide open net was left for Dainius Zubrys. Ryan McDonagh planted himself in front of the net and blocked the shot: a fantastic effort by the Rangers defenseman. We then saw Devils’ Mike Cammalleri knock a puck out of Lundqvist’s glove with his stick and Zuccarello didn’t particularly like that. Zucc had a few words for Cammalleri who challenged Zucc in response but was served justice when Zucc gave him a push and the Devils player lost his balance, falling backwards onto the ice. Both headed over to the penalty box at 8:46, Cammalleri for embellishment and Zucc for unsportsmanlike conduct. Carl Hagelin was then called for tripping with seconds left on the clock at 19:04. Shorthanded, Stepan gained possession of the puck and took a backhand shot through the five-hole, scoring the fourth NY goal at 19:57, Nash (27) and McDonagh (23) notching assists. The Rangers bounced back in SOG this period, up 15-11 going into the third.
THIRD PERIOD: Still on the penalty kill from the second period, Dom Moore was caught high sticking and the Rangers were put on a two-man disadvantage at 11 seconds in. The magical Stepan, in wide open ice once again went on another shorthanded breakaway and almost slipped the puck in on the wraparound, drawing an interference penalty on Eric Gelinas at 1:01. Back at even strength, Brassard (18) took a shot at the goal from a sharp angle and the puck found its way in for the Rangers’ fifth goal, Martin St. Louis (28) and Marc Staal (14) tallying assists at 1:55. Shortly at 3:26, Dan Girardi pushed a Devils player into Kinkaid, bumping the goalie into his own net and the Rangers were put on the penalty kill, easily squashing it. On the 5-on-5, Mactruck ripped a shot through traffic and Dom Moore (9) got his stick on the puck before it hit the twine. Assists were credited to McDonagh (24) and Girardi (16) on the Rangers’ sixth goal. Before the sixty minutes were up, the Devils stole Lundqvist’s bid at a shutout when Tuomo Ruutu (8) scored on a wrist shot assisted by Mark Fraser (4) and Jordin Tootoo (6). New Jersey held the edge in SOG, 11-8, that period but couldn’t score more than one against the Rangers.
STARS OF THE GAME:
1- Henrik Lundqvist, 36 saves, .972 SV%
2- Dominic Moore, 2 goals
3- Keith Yandle, 1 goal, 1 assist
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