|
 He proved that Friday night.
Lindberg scored a sharp-angle goal 21 seconds after fellow center
Derek Stepan tied the score and the New York Rangers beat the
Colorado Avalanche 2-1.
Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had 29 saves -- 14 in the third period
-- for the Rangers (9-2-2), who are 3-0-2 against the Avalanche
since the start of the 2013-14 season.
New York has won four in a row and has points in eight straight
games.
"They came off a tough loss last night and we knew they were going
to be hungry," Rangers defenseman Marc Stall said. "To come in here
and play a good road game is good for us."
Center Nathan MacKinnon had Colorado's goal. The Avalanche (4-9-1)
lost their second straight and are 2-5-1 at home.
"It's a very, very frustrating start of a season," Colorado coach
Patrick Roy said. "We have nine losses right now, and out of those
nine, seven of them are one-goal games. We need to find a way to
push those games in overtime, we need to find a way to get that big
goal in the third period."
It has been a dream start for Lindberg, who leads all rookies in
goals with seven. His what-the-heck shot as he was parallel with
Berra went off the goalie and bounced into the net.
"I was looking for a pass in the slot, (right winger Kevin) Hayes
had a guy on him, so I thought shoot it at the net and see if a
rebound comes out," he said. "I'm in a flow right now, so that makes
it easy to shoot."
His coach didn't mind Lindberg taking that shot.
"Sometimes when a player feels it, sees it, I always like that bad
angle shot," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "I always think
it's a good idea. It definitely was tonight."
It proved to be the winner after Stepan had tied the score at 1 with
a power-play goal at 12:42. A shot ricocheted off the back boards to
center Mats Zuccarello, who fed Stepan for a one-timer that beat
Berra for his fourth goal of the season.
The quick flurry was enough to doom the Avalanche, who lost more
than the game. Right winger Alex Tanguay left in the third period
with a knee injury and didn't return. Tanguay was hurt late in the
second period and played one shift in the third before departing.
Colorado pulled Berra for an extra skater with 1:47 left. The
Avalanche had several scoring chances but couldn't tie it.
[to top of second column] |
Berra finished with 31 saves.
"They're goalie played well. We had some chances, but we've got to
find a way to score one," MacKinnon said. "When Reto plays that
well, we need to help him out a lot more than we did. Definitely
disappointing."
The Avalanche took advantage of their only power play of the first
period. With Hayes off for hooking at 6:44, MacKinnon skated around
defenseman Dan Girardi and put a low shot by McDonagh. Lundqvist got
a glove on it, but it snuck through to give Colorado a 1-0 lead at
7:13.
It was MacKinnon's sixth goal of the season. He shook off a hand
injury suffered Thursday in Arizona to log 22:51 of ice time.
"It's a little sore, but I'm all right," he said. "It was pretty
painful (after hit last night), more of a stinger. It's all right,
I'll be OK."
The Rangers outshot the Avalanche 11-7 in the period and had chances
to score. Berra stopped center Derick Brassard twice on the doorstep
in a short span midway through the period.
NOTES: Rangers LW Rick Nash was scratched with a back injury. He is
considered day to day and could play in Saturday's game in Arizona.
RW Emerson Etem took his place on the top line. ... Avalanche C
Nathan MacKinnon was in the lineup despite suffering a hand injury
in the final minutes of Thursday's loss at the Coyotes. ... Rangers
G Henrik Lundqvist tied Mike Richter for most appearances by a
goaltender in franchise history, playoffs and regular season
combined. ... Colorado RW Jarome Iginla briefly tied Arizona RW
Shane Doan for second-most games played by an active player with
1,406. Doan should move back ahead Saturday.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
