NY Rangers 3, New Jersey 2
When: 7:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 18, 2016
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Referees:
Justin St. Pierre, Ian Walsh
Linesmen:
Lonnie Cameron, Matt MacPherson
Attendance:
18006
By The Sports Xchange
NEW YORK -- Showing plenty of resolve, plus a flair for the dramatic, the New York Rangers erased a pair of third-period deficits en route to a 3-2 shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
The victory was New York's third straight and sixth in its past seven games. With the loss, the Devils are now winless in their past six games (0-5-1) and just 4-11-5 on the road this season.
Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes scored for the Rangers and Michael Cammalleri scored for the Devils in the tiebreaking skills competition that ultimately was decided when Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist denied Damon Severson in the fourth round after Hayes gave New York the lead.
After heading into the third period down 1-0, the Rangers finally broke through against a sharp Cory Schneider at 8:10 when Chris Kreider beat the Devils goalie off a pretty Zuccarello pass for his ninth goal.
New Jersey rookie Miles Wood quickly answered Kreider's goal at 10:32, putting New Jersey up 2-1 with his third of the season.
It appeared Wood's goal would hold up until Derek Stepan redirected Ryan McDonagh's feed past Schneider with 73 seconds remaining in regulation and Lundqvist on the bench for a sixth attacker.
"It's a heck of a play by Mac (McDonagh)," said Stepan, who has six goals on the season. "It ends up in the back of the net and we find a way to get to overtime and we get a huge second point, too."
Both teams had several chances to win the game during the exciting five-minute overtime period in which the Devils recorded four shots on goal and the Rangers two. Lundqvist calmly held the fort during an early three-on-one rush by New Jersey in the extra session and made a diving stop to deny Taylor Hall later during overtime.
"Overall, as a hockey fan, you had to like watching this game," Cammalleri said. "It was a real good hockey game, and I hope that everyone was entertained that watched it."
Lundqvist, who also backstopped New York's 2-1 shootout victory Saturday night in Nashville, finished with 29 saves. He started his third game in a row, in four nights, and won them all while allowing only three goals in total. The win was the 389th of Lundqvist's 12-year career, all with the Rangers. It ties him with Dominik Hasek (389-223-95) for most by a European goalie. Hasek played 16 NHL seasons, nine of them with Buffalo.
"It felt like we deserved this one," said Lundqvist, who has a 389-237-73 career record. "They played well, they really did, but I thought we did a really good job in the third to turn it up. You can never give up. You have to believe it. The way the guys continued to work in the third when we got down a goal, that was impressive, and it builds character in this room."
Schneider, who had given up 14 goals in his last three starts, all losses, stopped 25 of 27 shots on Sunday. He was exceptionally sharp in the opening period when he made three clutch saves on terrific short-handed scoring chances for Hayes and Rick Nash.
"At the end of the day, it's about the two points, and we only got one," Schneider said. "It's tough to lose shootouts, it's frustrating because I want to be perfect, but hopefully this is a game I can build on and get back to the way I know I can play."
The Devils scored the game's first goal at 4:37 of the second period when P.A. Parenteau recorded his seventh goal of the season. With New Jersey on the power play, Parenteau's shot hit the post, but the puck deflected back off Lundqvist's arm and over the goal line to give the Devils a lead on a fortuitous bounce.
Parenteau's score was New Jersey's first power-play goal in five games, and the first power-play goal surrendered by New York in its past seven contests. It was also the ninth career goal and 18th career point Parenteau has recorded in 20 games against the Rangers, the team he played for during the 2009-10 season.
NOTES: Devils coach John Hynes made four changes to his lineup Sunday following a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. ... New Jersey starting G Cory Schneider was between the pipes after backup G Keith Kinkaid made the start Saturday. ... New Jersey RW P.A. Parenteau and RW Beau Bennett played after each was scratched the previous two games, and rookie C Pavel Zacha replaced C Jacob Josefson (upper body). ... The Devils' healthy scratches were LW Luke Gazdic and RW Devante Smith-Pelly. ... The Rangers remained without injured C Mika Zibanejad (fractured fibula) and RW Pavel Buchnevich (back). ... New York's healthy scratches were D Adam Clendening and RW Brandon Pirri.
Top Game Performances
New Jersey |
|
NY Rangers |
Kyle Palmieri 2 |
Points |
Chris Kreider 1 |
PA Parenteau 1 |
Goals |
Chris Kreider 1 |
Kyle Palmieri 2 |
Assists |
Kevin Klein 1 |
PA Parenteau 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Cory Schneider .926 |
Save Percentage |
Henrik Lundqvist .935 |
Cory Schneider 25 |
Saves |
Henrik Lundqvist 29 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
New Jersey
|
31 |
2 |
1-4 |
2-2 |
4 |
31 |
NY Rangers
|
27 |
3 |
0-2 |
3-4 |
8 |
26 |
Upcoming Games
-
NY Rangers will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Rangers have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .917 after a loss.
-
New Jersey will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Devils have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .316 after a loss.