|
 New York scored four unanswered goals in the period on its way to
a 7-3 win over the New Jersey Devils before 50,105 fans at Yankee
Stadium on Sunday.
The Rangers (28-23-3) snapped a brief two-game losing streak and
picked up two valuable points from their Metropolitan Division
rivals. New York is four points ahead of New Jersey (22-20-11),
59-55.
New York is 7-3 in its last 10 games.
Left winger Mats Zuccarello scored twice in the second period. His
15th goal of the season as the snow came down harder gave the
Rangers a 4-3 lead at 12:44. Left winger Carl Hagelin's 12th goal at
13:53 and left winger Rick Nash's team-leading 18th at 19:31 gave
the Rangers a 6-3 cushion.
Nash has recorded six goals in his last four games.
"It's pretty incredible getting four goals against Jersey in one
period," said Hagelin. "We got some pucks behind their defense. We
knew they were pinching and we found a way to get it around them and
get odd-man rushes.
"The snow didn't affect us. It seemed to help us."
The 5-foot-7 Zuccarello, who will represent Norway in the Winter
Olympics, has accumulated 12 points in his last 15 games.
"I know it's a pretty special building to play in," said Zuccarello
of Yankee Stadium. "I've never been here, and baseball is not that
big in Norway. But I've lived in the U.S. for quite a while now, so
I know it's pretty special.
"It's special for me too coming from Norway, and to be able to play
at this rink and get the win too is pretty amazing."
Center Derek Stepan scored on a penalty shot in the third period to
match the Rangers' highest goal output this season. New York
defeated Toronto 7-1 on Jan. 4. The goal was the first penalty shot
scored in an NHL outdoor game.
Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist did not allow a goal after the
first period, stopping 12 shots after that. He finished with 19
saves.
The start of the game was delayed one hour due to sun glare, and it
affected Lundqvist.
"It was a tough start to the game," Lundqvist noted. "I think my
preparation was not perfect. It changed a couple times.
"I was asleep when they told me it was a warm-up in 30 minutes. So I
felt like I
was not really in the right place mentally in the first period. I
was fighting it a little bit.
"I felt like I calmed down in the second and third period and played
my game, but it was fun."
Zuccarello tied the game at 3-3 on a deflected pass from defenseman
John Moore from across the front of the net at 2:48 of the second.
[to top of second column] |
The Rangers' last three shots in the second period resulted in
goals. Devils coach Peter DeBoer pulled goalie Martin Brodeur after
two periods in favor of Cory Schneider. Brodeur stopped 15 of New
York's 21 shots. The in-game goalie switch was the first for the
Devils this season.
"I'd like to blame it on the snow," said DeBoer of the loss. "That
would give me a reason why. We did come out ready to play. I thought
we had a really good first period, and I think we fell into a little
bit of a trap because it was five goals scored in the first.
"We started to open it up a little bit in the second looking for
another three goals in the second period, and that's not our game.
They (New York) made us pay."
New Jersey led 3-2 after the first period.
Center Travis Zajac recorded his 300th NHL point and eighth goal of
the season, giving the Devils a 3-1 cushion at 16:07. He flipped a
backhander from right wing Jaromir Jagr, who registered his second
point of the period.
New York struck back quickly on defenseman Marc Staal's third goal
of the season, just 52 seconds after Zajac scored.
Earlier, left wing Patrik Elias scored his second goal of the first
period, taking a pass from Jagr from behind the net on the power
play. Jagr drew the defense and Lundqvist with him, then fed a
wide-open Elias who deposited the puck into an open net for his
ninth goal of the campaign at 11:00. That gave New Jersey a 2-1
lead.
Elias had provided the Devils with a 1-0 lead at 5:36 of the first
period. He received a long pass from left wing Ryane Clowe and
Lundqvist with a wrist shot on the stick side.
The Rangers evened the score 1-1 on a tap-in by fourth line center
Dominic Moore. Defenseman Anton Stralman blasted a shot from the
right point that caught the back of Devils defenseman Anton
Volchenkov's skate and deflected to Moore who recorded his fourth
goal of the season at 9:07.
NOTES: The 10 combined goals tied an NHL outdoor-game record. In
2009, Detroit beat Chicago 6-4 at Wrigley Field. ... Rangers G
Henrik Lundqvist and Devils G Martin Brodeur have combined for 172
career shutouts. ... Devils RW Jaromir Jagr and LW Patrik Elias are
the NHL's first and eighth active leading scorers, respectively.
Their combined 2,687 career points are tops among any pair of
teammates in the NHL. ... Going into Sunday's game, the Rangers and
Devils have been separated by two goals or less in 17 of their last
24 meetings. ... Lundqvist's goalie mask had Yankee pinstripes down
the front and images of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig on
the right side. ... The Rangers featured 10 players who skated in
the 2011 Winter Classic at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Ballpark.
The Rangers face the Islanders Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
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