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 Left wingers Chris Kreider and Rick Nash ended their season-long
scoring droughts and defenseman Keith Yandle scored in his first
game against his former team as the Rangers defeated the Arizona
Coyotes 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.
Yandle, who was acquired by the Rangers at last season's trade
deadline, scored a power-play goal early in the third period, about
four minutes after center Kevin Hayes put the Rangers ahead for good
with his second goal of the game.
The victory moved the Rangers (5-2-1) into first place in the
Metropolitan Division.
Yandle went to dinner with some of his former teammates Wednesday
night and admitted it was special to score a goal and get a win in
what was a unique situation for him.
"It was one of those things I tried not to think about too much and
tried not to let it get in my head, but it was," Yandle said. "It
was a little bit emotional but I think after the first couple shifts
it was game time and it was a fun game to play in."
Yandle's goal was the result of a blast from the point that
deflected off a pair of Coyotes (3-3-1) and past goaltender Mike
Smith, who made 23 saves as his team lost its fourth straight after
opening the season 3-0.
Nash's goal was almost equally as strange. With Smith on the bench
for an extra attacker in the final minute, Nash was hooked on a
clear breakaway. The puck slipped off his stick but officials
awarded Nash his first goal in 28 shots.
"The way things had been going," Nash quipped, "it felt pretty
standard."
After these teams played two mostly suffocating periods of defense
-- the Coyotes didn't register their first shot until 5:14 remained
in the first period -- the game transformed into a shootout.
The Coyotes opened the scoring with 4:26 remaining in the first
period. Defenseman Klas Dahlbeck beat goaltender Henrik Lundqvist
with a long wrist shot to make it 1-0. The goal could be credited to
both the accuracy of Dahlbeck's shot and the slow reaction of a
goaltender that didn't have much to do for most of the opening
period.
That shot would be the only one to beat Lundqvist, who finished as
the game's first star after making 34 saves.
"It was a strange game," Lundqvist said. "I think we did a good job.
After we tied the game, we got energized and our game picked up a
little bit."
Kreider evened the score at 1 on the first of two assists for right
winger Mats Zuccarello midway through the second period. The goal
seemed to give both teams a lift, as Smith and Lundqvist had to make
some difficult stops to keep the game tied heading to the third.
But it was a misplay behind the net by Smith that led to Hayes
scoring what would be the game-winning goal.
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"It was a close game," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "The big
goal is the one that it's a tight game and you give up the second
and you're chasing."
"It's disappointing," Coyotes right winger Shane Doan said. "We had
some opportunities and couldn't capitalize on them. They had some
opportunities they capitalized on. We've got to get some more
offense out of a lot of other guys."
That had been the cry for the Rangers, who received three goals from
three players that entered the game goalless despite scoring 69
goals a season ago.
Sure, Nash's goal never crossed the goal line, but he'll take the
win and enjoy the fact the Rangers mustered the effort in the third
period to beat a Western Conference team that doesn't exactly get
the adrenaline flowing this early in the season.
"I think we were explaining to each other how important these two
points were," Nash said of the conversation in the locker room after
the second period. "You're going against a team that is not in your
division, not in your conference, it's October, and we just tried to
put emphasis on how important these two points were and we needed
them."
NOTES: Coyotes C Antoine Vermette (lower body) left the game during
the second period and did not return. ... Coyotes LW John Scott and
D Stefan Elliot were healthy scratches. C Joe Vitale (broken orbital
bone) did not play. ... Rangers C Derek Stepan played despite being
a game-time decision after having a wisdom tooth removed Wednesday.
The dental surgery required the removal of two screws that were
inserted when Stepan broke his jaw during the 2014 playoffs. ...
Rangers D Dylan McIlrath and RW Emerson Etem were healthy scratches.
Both players have appeared in only one game this season.
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