In a battle of wills, the New York Rangers outlasted their cross-river rivals the New Jersey Devils 4–3 in a shootout on Thursday at the Prudential Center.
Down 3–2 with a minute left in the game, the Rangers pulled goalie Henrik Lundqvist and did the unthinkable.
With the clock winding down, Rangers winger Erik Christensen skated behind the Devils goal and threw a no-look pass to captain Chris Drury who slammed it passed Martin Brodeur with 17 seconds left in the game.
Neither team was able to score in OT and it all came down to the shootout, where Christensen came up huge again. He beat Brodeur with a quick shot that ricocheted off the top corner of the net, giving the Rangers the win.
Lundqvist shut down all Devils shooters and virtually saved his team’s chances for the postseason.
With the win, the Rangers now have 75 points and are three points back of the eighth-place Boston Bruins. The Atlanta Thrashers are in ninth place with 76 points.
Lundqvist did everything in his power to give his team the best chance to win, making 35 saves—ultimately, he would be the difference maker.
Lundqvist commented after the game with MSG, “We hung in there and never gave up, and that’s the mindset we need to have down the stretch.”
“We know how important this is and to stay alive, it’s a great feeling.”
With both teams coming off impressive victories this week and humming offensively, this game had all the makings of a typical Devils–Rangers grudge match and, for all intents of purposes, had the energy of a playoff game.
The Devils owned the first period, coming out onto the ice with a sense of purpose and the look of a team playoff team. By contrast, the Rangers looked out of sync for most of the first.
Winger Ilya Kovulchuk got things going for the Devils at 5:21 in the first after tapping in a quick rebound.
After a slow start, the Rangers came out on fire in the second period and Brandon Dubinsky tied the game with a power play goal.
Things got interesting with about 10 minutes left in the period after Lundqvist stuffed Devils winger Patrik Elias on a shorthanded breakaway. The outstanding play gave New York extra confidence and seemed to frustrate the Devils but they refused to go away quietly.
Elias would get his revenge at 3:53 in the third period after taking a pass from teammate David Clarkson and zipping a one-timer past a sprawling Lundqvist, bringing the home crowd to its feet.
The Rangers tied it up once again at 9:40 after winger Brandon Prust skated the length of the ice and fed an assist to center Artem Anisimov. The lanky Russian skated across the crease, put a move on Brodeur and threw the puck in the top shelf.
The Devils retook the lead as captain Jamie Langenbrunner beat Lundqvist with a laser from the blue line at 12:37.
And then, as we know, Rangers captain Chris Drury scores clutch goals and on Thursday, he didn’t disappoint.
It was a good night for the Blueshirts as Tampa Bay beat Boston 5–3 and Toronto beat Atlanta 2–1.
“The only thing we can do now is keep working and keep battling and never give up,” said Lundqvist.
Down 3–2 with a minute left in the game, the Rangers pulled goalie Henrik Lundqvist and did the unthinkable.
With the clock winding down, Rangers winger Erik Christensen skated behind the Devils goal and threw a no-look pass to captain Chris Drury who slammed it passed Martin Brodeur with 17 seconds left in the game.
Neither team was able to score in OT and it all came down to the shootout, where Christensen came up huge again. He beat Brodeur with a quick shot that ricocheted off the top corner of the net, giving the Rangers the win.
Lundqvist shut down all Devils shooters and virtually saved his team’s chances for the postseason.
With the win, the Rangers now have 75 points and are three points back of the eighth-place Boston Bruins. The Atlanta Thrashers are in ninth place with 76 points.
Lundqvist did everything in his power to give his team the best chance to win, making 35 saves—ultimately, he would be the difference maker.
Lundqvist commented after the game with MSG, “We hung in there and never gave up, and that’s the mindset we need to have down the stretch.”
“We know how important this is and to stay alive, it’s a great feeling.”
With both teams coming off impressive victories this week and humming offensively, this game had all the makings of a typical Devils–Rangers grudge match and, for all intents of purposes, had the energy of a playoff game.
The Devils owned the first period, coming out onto the ice with a sense of purpose and the look of a team playoff team. By contrast, the Rangers looked out of sync for most of the first.
Winger Ilya Kovulchuk got things going for the Devils at 5:21 in the first after tapping in a quick rebound.
After a slow start, the Rangers came out on fire in the second period and Brandon Dubinsky tied the game with a power play goal.
Things got interesting with about 10 minutes left in the period after Lundqvist stuffed Devils winger Patrik Elias on a shorthanded breakaway. The outstanding play gave New York extra confidence and seemed to frustrate the Devils but they refused to go away quietly.
Elias would get his revenge at 3:53 in the third period after taking a pass from teammate David Clarkson and zipping a one-timer past a sprawling Lundqvist, bringing the home crowd to its feet.
The Rangers tied it up once again at 9:40 after winger Brandon Prust skated the length of the ice and fed an assist to center Artem Anisimov. The lanky Russian skated across the crease, put a move on Brodeur and threw the puck in the top shelf.
The Devils retook the lead as captain Jamie Langenbrunner beat Lundqvist with a laser from the blue line at 12:37.
And then, as we know, Rangers captain Chris Drury scores clutch goals and on Thursday, he didn’t disappoint.
It was a good night for the Blueshirts as Tampa Bay beat Boston 5–3 and Toronto beat Atlanta 2–1.
“The only thing we can do now is keep working and keep battling and never give up,” said Lundqvist.
