Back on the Winning Track

After a disappointing trip to Florida, the New York Rangers came home to the tri-state area. Two losses to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers left a sour taste in the New York Rangers mouths, as it ended their 13 game point streak. The Rangers would play back to back games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils.

The Rangers were back in the Garden on Tuesday to face the high powered offense of the Penguins. The Rangers caught a break though, as Sidney Crosby was sidelined with a high ankle sprain. The Pens still were dangerous with Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa. The Rangers came out strong in the first with goals by Sean Avery and Ryan Callahan. However, in the second, the Pens struck back. Quick goals by Jarkko Ruutu and Jordan Staal noted the game at 2. Sensing his team had lost their composure, Head Coach Tom Renney called a timeout. This proved to be a wise move as the Rangers responded. Newly acquired Ranger Fredrik Sjostrom answered the call. 44 seconds after the timeout, Sjostrom stole the puck and scored on a mini-breakaway. After this, the Rangers would not look back. The third period was dominated the Rangers, as goals were scored by Straka and Avery. The Rangers would go on to win by the final of 5-2. Lundqvist looked solid in the win posting 22 saves as he notched his 33rd win of the season.

Notes* Rangers kept Evgeni Malkin in check as he did not register a point. Jordan Staal of the Penguins and Marc Staal of the Rangers continued their sibling rivalry, with Marc coming out on top. Their father was also in attendance. Henrik Lundqvist recorded his 100th victory as a Rangers goaltender, becoming the fastest Rangers goaltender to reach the mark (187 games, the previous record holder was Mike Richter with 198.)

The very next night, the Rangers were back on the ice against the New Jersey Devils in the Prudential Center. This would be the 6th meeting between the two teams this season, with the Rangers having won the previous 5. Henrik Lundqvist would be back in net after playing the night before, but against the Devils this season, King has played out of his mind. Lundqvist has only allowed more than two goals once against the Devils this season. On top of that stat, King Henrik has posted two of his nine shutouts against the Devils as well.

From the drop of the puck, you could feel the intensity of this game. 35 seconds in, David Clarkson and Sean Avery dropped the gloves. Jersey came out flying, as they had a few days rest. The Rangers appeared to just try and weather the storm after playing last night. The Devils would leave the period on top though, as Dainius Zubrus scored a power play goal for the Devils. Martin Brodeur looked sharp as well, as he stopped Martin Straka on a breakaway. The second period began, and this time the Rangers came out flying. They dominated most of the second period, but Brodeur continued his stellar play. At the end of two, the Rangers were still down 1-0.

The third period was exciting to say the least. Back and forth action the whole period, with the Rangers getting the upper hand. Then, with less than 5 minutes left, captain clutch himself, Chris Drury tied the game at 1. Ryan Callahan had the puck behind the Devils net and swooped right out in front of the goal line. He thread a rocket of pass across the crease between two Devil defenders to a wide open Chris Drury. Drury made sure to bury it, as he roofed it up top and knocked off Martin Brodeur's water bottle. The game would end tied at 1, and go into a 4 on 4 overtime.

Overtime was lackluster, as both teams seemed to not want to make a mistake. After 5 minutes of play, the game would go into a shootout. The Rangers would choose Brendan Shanahan, Nigel Dawes, and Ryan Callahan to shoot. The Devils would counter with Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Gionta, and Zach Parise. The Rangers would go first, and Shanahan would be stopped by Brodeur. Not to be outdone, Henrik Lundqvist stoned Langenbrunner. The Rangers would then send Nigel Dawes out. Dawes came in on Brodeur, faked a shot that froze Brodeur. While Brodeur was trying to reset, Dawes sent a shot on the ice the went 5 hold on Marty. Brodeur shook his head in disbelief. Lundqvist would then turn aside both Gionta and Parise to give the Rangers the 1-0 shootout win. Final score Rangers 2, Devils 1.

Notes* This is the first time the Rangers have beaten the Devils 6 times in one season since 1993-94, the same year the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. Also, Brodeur after the game called Dawes shot lucky, saying he missed his original shot. Dawes was informed of this later and shot back that he got him with a good fake, and the only problem he had with the shot, was the he didn't shoot it as hard as he wanted to.

Here are the Eastern Conference Standings as of before Thursday March 20.

Rank GP W L OT Pts
1 New Jersey Devils* 73 42 24 7 91
2 Montreal Canadiens* 74 40 24 10 90
3 Carolina Hurricanes* 75 40 30 5 85
4 Pittsburgh Penguins 73 41 25 7 89
5 Ottawa Senators 73 40 26 7 87
6 New York Rangers 74 39 26 9 87
7 Boston Bruins 73 37 27 9 83
8 Philadelphia Flyers 74 36 28 10 82

*Denotes division leader


Article used for Reference:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280319011