Rangers take advantage of Ducks' mistakes

[January 08, 2015]  ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The final score might not reflect it, but much of Wednesday night's game at Honda Center was a duel of goalies, New York's Henrik Lundqvist and seldom-used Anaheim backup Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Rangers took advantage of two defensive-zone giveaways by the Ducks in the third period, then added an empty-net goal for a 4-1 victory.

"We were able to make them pay for a few of their mistakes," New York coach Alain Vigneault said. "I thought there was solid goaltending from both sides."

Lundqvist made 24 saves as the Rangers improved to 22-11-4. Bryzgalov, giving a rare rest to Frederik Andersen, who started 26 of the previous 27 games, made 26 saves for the Ducks (26-10-6).

"We have to give (Bryzgalov) more than one goal to win," said Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who scored his team's lone goal, on the power play, but also was responsible for one of the costly third-period giveaways.

"I battled hard," said Bryzgalov, whose only other start was a 6-2 beating Dec. 20 against the Senators. "Compared to the game I played in Ottawa, that was much better.

"I know what I'm capable of doing. Today was better than the last one. The next one will be better and the next better."

The Rangers got goals from center Derick Brassard, left winger Rick Nash, right winger Mats Zuccarello and center Dominic Moore (the empty-netter, at 17:46). Only on Brassard's second-period goal did Bryzgalov really have a chance to make a save.

Zuccarello converted the miscue by Beachemin into an unassisted goal from the right circle 14:27 of the third period. Zuccarello's seventh gave the Rangers their second two-goal lead, 3-1.

The Ducks pulled within 2-1 at 10:09 of the third on Beauchemin's third goal of the season. His left-point shot went off the back of Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle and redirected past an angry Lundqvist just 10 seconds into a delay-of-game penalty on New York center Derek Stephan.

"We have to work hard every night," Lundqvist said, "especially against the teams that are up there in the standings. They play consistent every night.

"We played with a lot of poise and confidence, making a lot of smart moves. We showed a lot of patience. This game was a tight game."

The Rangers made it 2-0 at 2:32 of the third period, converting a giveaway by Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen that gave Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein a clear chance from the top of the slot. Brzgalov got a piece of the puck, but Nash batted it in mid-air for his 25th goal.

Anaheim swept New York in last season's two-game series, and the Ducks hadn't lost at home to the Rangers since the 2008-09 season, winning the past two between the infrequent opponents. This was just the teams' 11th meeting in 10 years.

"They're going to be a tough team to beat," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of the Rangers, who lost in the 2014 Stanley Cup finals to the Los Angeles Kings, the team that eliminated Anaheim in the West. "We gave them two goals, and they scored the empty-netter.

"They're a really good team that deserved to win. They played better than us. When we had chances, we didn't bury them."

New York finally solved Brygalov on its 17th shot, at 9:10 of the second period. Brassard, with some room to operate because a delayed penalty was called, fired from above the left circle and scored his 11th goal. He beat Bryzgalov cleanly on the short side with no traffic in front.

Lundqvist made 18 saves through two periods. Beauchemin's goal came on the Ducks' 24th shot on goal.

"Lundqvist played well," Beauchemin said. "We didn't get those second or third opportunities."

NOTES: Before Wednesday, G Ilya Bryzgalov, 34, gave up eight goals in 74 minutes, 32 seconds in his first two games since returning to the Ducks on Dec. 9, after G John Gibson was injured. ... Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau didn't pick an easy spot for Bryzgalov. New York came in ranked third in the NHL in goals per game at 3.08. The last time the Rangers ranked this high in scoring through 36 games was in 2000-01. ... Rangers LW Rick Nash has 12 goals and six assists in 14 games against Anaheim. He had a point in 13 of those 14 contests. ... Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist made his sixth consecutive start. He allowed two or fewer goals for the ninth time in his past 10 starts.

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