Rangers Fall To The Capitals 7-3 At The Garden

Things started out looking good for the Rangers Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, but they did not end so well as the Blueshirts were defeated 7-3 by the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals.

New York has now lost three straight games--allowing 17 goals in the defeats--and is 3-9-2 over the past 14 games. Washington has won five in a row, riding a 12-1-1 hot streak over the past 14 games.

After spotting the Rangers a 3-1 lead, Washington stormed back with four unanswered goals in the second period, and the stunned home team found itself in a 5-3 hole after 40 minutes of play.

The Rangers actually surrendered the game's first goal--to Justin Williams 12:03 into the opening period--but they reeled off three of their own before the first intermission arrived. J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider, and Dan Boyle scored for New York against Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, who earlier this season had allowed five goals at The Garden in a 5-2 Rangers victory on November 3.

Miller scored his seventh of the season, and second in as many games, by swooping towards the net from right wing, cutting across the crease, and beating Holtby with a pretty finish just 1:39 after Williams had given Washington the lead.

The MSG crowd--which featured Sir Paul McCartney in attendance Sunday--had more to cheer about two minutes later when Kreider scored an unassisted goal at 15:44. After a takeaway between the circles Kreider powered to the net and beat Holtby with a forehand finish for his sixth goal and a 2-1 Rangers lead.

The Blueshirts added a power play goal from Boyle at 18:03 giving them eight goals on 36 shots against Holtby to that point this season at The Garden. Boyle hammered his fourth goal of the season into the cage on a one-timer off a pretty feed from Ryan McDonagh. He has scored all four of those goals in a seven-game span.

However that's where the good news ended for the Rangers on Sunday. Washington scored four goals in the second period--driving Henrik Lundqvist to the bench after 40 minutes in favor of rookie Magnus Hellberg--and continued to pour it on in the third.

Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie scored 1:36 apart early in the second to tie the game by the 7:01 mark and Alex Ovechkin--who had been held without even one shot attempt in the first period--picked his spot and ripped a left-circle power-play goal past Lundqvist at 11:03 of the second, putting the Capitals back in the lead, 4-3.

Williams scored a back-breaking power play goal with one minute to play in the second to put an exclamation point on Washington's dominating middle stanza. Though not nearly all his fault, Lundqvist was removed from the game after the second period having allowed five goals on 24 shots.

Rookie Magnus Hellberg--who had one previous appearance in the National Hockey League, and who is on the roster due to Antti Raanta's head injury--started the third period in goal, and made his Rangers debut in the process. Unfortunately for him and the team the first two shots he faced ended up in the back of his net as the Capitals extended their lead to 7-3.

Jason Chimera squashed any hopes of a Blueshirt comeback by scoring a shorthanded breakaway goal at 2:26 against Hellberg, and Marcus Johansson scored from in close at 4:36--his first goal of the night after assisting on an earlier pair.

Johansson joined Nicklas Backstrom (0-3-3) and Williams (2-1-3) as Caps players with three points in Sunday's game. Defenseman Dmitri Orlov had a pair of helpers and Kuznetsov also had two points (1-1-2).

The Rangers will try and regroup in their final game before the Christmas holiday break when they host the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday night at The Garden.

POST GAME WRAP UP: FINAL STATS
Scoring Summary
1st Period
12:03 WSH Justin Williams (9) Tip-in - ASST: Taylor Chorney (4), John Carlson (20) 1 - 0 WSH
13:42 NYR J.T. Miller (7) Wrist shot - ASST: Rick Nash (14), Keith Yandle (18) 1 - 1 Tie
15:44 NYR Chris Kreider (6) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE 2 - 1 NYR
18:03 NYR PPG - Dan Boyle (4) Slapshot - ASST: Ryan McDonagh (12), Mats Zuccarello (14) 3 - 1 NYR

2nd Period
05:25 WSH Evgeny Kuznetsov (10) Backhand shot - ASST: Dmitry Orlov (8), Justin Williams (13) 3 - 2 NYR
07:01 WSH T.J. Oshie (13) Backhand shot - ASST: Nicklas Backstrom (19), Dmitry Orlov (9) 3 - 3 Tie
11:03 WSH PPG - Alex Ovechkin (17) Snap shot - ASST: Marcus Johansson (11), Nicklas Backstrom (20) 4 - 3 WSH
19:00 WSH PPG - Justin Williams (10) Snap shot - ASST: Marcus Johansson (12), Nicklas Backstrom (21) 5 - 3 WSH

3rd Period
02:26 WSH SHG - Jason Chimera (8) Wrist shot - ASST: Tom Wilson (6) 6 - 3 WSH
04:36 WSH Marcus Johansson (7) Snap shot - ASST: Evgeny Kuznetsov (20) 7 - 3 WSH

Penalty Summary
1st Period
04:21 WSH Justin Williams Hooking - 2 min against Chris Summers
17:05 WSH Dmitry Orlov Hooking - 2 min against Emerson Etem

2nd Period
00:53 NYR Oscar Lindberg Tripping - 2 min against Marcus Johansson
03:09 WSH Tom Wilson Unsportsmanlike conduct - 2 min against Oscar Lindberg
08:33 WSH Tom Wilson Roughing - 2 min against Tanner Glass
08:33 NYR Tanner Glass Roughing - 2 min against Tom Wilson
08:33 WSH Tom Wilson Roughing - 2 min against Tanner Glass
08:33 NYR Tanner Glass Roughing - 2 min against Tom Wilson
10:33 NYR Chris Summers Tripping - 2 min against Andre Burakovsky
14:34 WSH Michael Latta Hooking - 2 min against Emerson Etem
17:50 NYR Oscar Lindberg Hi-sticking - 2 min against Tom Wilson

3rd Period
01:19 WSH Alex Ovechkin Hooking - 2 min against Ryan McDonagh 

Shots By Period
Period WSH NYR
1st 7 15
2nd 17 9
3rd 6 12
Total 30 36

Team Stats
Category WSH NYR
Power Plays 2/3 1/5
Hits 24 15
Faceoff Wins 30 35
Giveaways 2 7
Takeaways 9 11
Blocked Shots 14 10
Penalty Minutes 14 10

NEXT GAME: Tuesday 12/22 Hagelin & the Ducks take on the Rangers at MSG 7:00 PM.

POST GAME RECAP & FINAL BOXSCORE

Rangers Fall 5-1 To The Canadiens
In a clash between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden the Rangers fell behind early and could not mount enough of a comeback, eventually falling to the Montreal Canadiens 5-1. The loss was only the second in the last 13 games for New York, which still leads the Metropolitan Division with 34 points.

Montreal carried a 2-1 lead into the third period, and then scored twice in a span of one minute 12 seconds to open up the final period. Devante Smith-Pelly scored his second goal of the game just 17 seconds into the third. Alex Galchenyuk followed with a bad-angle goal at 1:29 to put the Rangers in a 4-1 hole.
The expected duel between two of the top goalies in the NHL--Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price--dissolved in the final period of play. Price left the game after 40 minutes and was replaced by Mike Condon, for unspecified reasons. Then Lundqvist was lifted after the Canadiens made it 5-1 on a Max Pacorietty power play goal at 9:06, replaced by Antti Raanta.
Lundqvist surrendered a season-high five goals on 24 shots, while Price allowed one goal on 23 shots.
After spotting the Canadiens a 2-0 lead, the Rangers began to come alive offensively midway through the second period with longer sustained shifts in Montreal's end of the ice. Not only did the pressure applied by the Rangers lead to more shots on goal and more scoring chances, but the Canadiens began a parade to the penalty box trying to keep up with the home team.
Montreal took three minors in a row beginning at 9:33 of the second, and the Rangers finally cashed in on the third penalty as Ryan McDonagh hammered a slap shot past Price at 17:42 with Galchenyuk sitting in the penalty box. Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello assisted on McDonagh's fourth goal of the season, though Rick Nash's screen played a big part in the score, as well.
That goal was the first Price had allowed New York this season, a span of 97 minutes 42 seconds, coming off his 3-0 shutout of the Rangers at the Bell Centre on October 15.
Still the Rangers trailed 2-1 after two periods of play, with Price stopping 22 of 23 shots and Montreal having scored once in each of the first two stanzas. Sven Andrighetto opened the scoring with his first of the season off a scramble in front just 4:45 into play; and Smith-Pelly scored from in front 2:25 into the second.
Shortly after Montreal grabbed a 1-0 lead Lundqvist came out of his net to deny a wide-open Dale Weise and followed with a scrambling stop on David Desharnais. In the second period Lundqvist stoned Jeff Petry from point-blank range shortly after the Canadiens had secured a 2-0 lead.
Those would end up being the few highlights on the night for the Rangers, who will next face the Bruins up in Boston Friday afternoon before returning to MSG to face off with the Philadelphia Flyers in a Saturday matinee.

 NYR 1 MTL 5
Scoring Summary
1st Period
04:45 MTL Sven Andrighetto (1) Backhand shot - ASST: Lars Eller (2), P.K. Subban (19) 1 - 0 MTL
2nd Period
02:25 MTL Devante Smith-Pelly (2) Snap shot - ASST: Max Pacioretty (10), Tomas Plekanec (14) 2 - 0 MTL
17:42 NYR PPG - Rick Nash (7) Tip-in - ASST: Ryan McDonagh (6), Derick Brassard (9) 2 - 1 MTL
3rd Period
00:17 MTL Devante Smith-Pelly (3) Backhand shot - ASST: Tomas Plekanec (15) 3 - 1 MTL
01:29 MTL Alex Galchenyuk (4) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE 4 - 1 MTL
09:06 MTL PPG - Max Pacioretty (12) Slapshot - ASST: Alex Galchenyuk (11), Tomas Plekanec (16) 5 - 1 MTL
Penalty Summary
1st Period
15:19 NYR Dan Boyle Tripping - 2 min against David Desharnais
17:09 MTL Dale Weise Interference - 2 min against Jesper Fast
2nd Period
03:46 NYR Oscar Lindberg Slashing - 2 min against Alex Galchenyuk
09:33 MTL Tomas Plekanec Tripping - 2 min against Derick Brassard
13:10 MTL Andrei Markov Hooking - 2 min against Rick Nash
17:00 MTL Alex Galchenyuk Interference - 2 min against Oscar Lindberg
3rd Period
08:48 NYR Mats Zuccarello Tripping - 2 min against P.K. Subban
10:02 NYR Oscar Lindberg Interference - 2 min against David Desharnais
16:20 MTL Nathan Beaulieu Cross checking - 2 min against J.T. Miller
shots by period
Period MTL NYR
1st 10 11
2nd 8 12
3rd 7 11
Total 25 34
Team Stats
Category MTL NYR
Power Plays 1/4 1/5
Hits 15 24
Faceoff Wins 22 37
Giveaways 3 18
Takeaways 5 7
Blocked Shots 13 12
Penalty Minutes 10 8

RANGERS DEFEAT PREDATORS 3-0 AT MSG

POST GAME RECAP:
Lundqvist and Rangers Blank The Predators 3-0

"Hen-rik!" "Hen-rik!" the Blueshirts Faithful chanted over and over again Monday night at Madison Square Garden because time and again Henrik Lundqvist was there to perform all sorts of magic in leading the Rangers to a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators.

Though thoroughly outplayed during segments of the game, the Rangers were able to play a version of rope-a-dope as Lundqvist made save after clutch save against a frustrated Predators team that had been shut out in its previous two contests. Lundqvist finished with 31 saves and earned his second shutout of the season and 57th of his career.

Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, and Kevin Hayes scored the goals for New York, which won for the 11th time in its last 12 matches and is now tied once again for first overall in the NHL with Dallas and Montreal at 34 points. It was also the ninth straight home-ice win at MSG for the Blueshirts.

For the Rangers it was a sluggish, penalty-filled first period, or the exact opposite kind of start they were seeking in their return home. Nashville outshot New York 14-3 in the opening period and out-attempted the Rangers by a whopping 35-12 margin. Yet the the first period ended scoreless thanks to some solid penalty killing by the Rangers, 11 blocked shots by New York--including four by Marc Staal, and some outstanding work by Lundqvist in goal.

The parade to the penalty box--one game after New York was shorthanded six times in Saturday's wild 5-4 overtime victory in Florida--began with a Dan Girardi interference minor at 11:07, continued shortly after that successful kill as Keith Yandle was whistled for a holding penalty at 13:31, and culminated when Derek Stepan was assessed a four-minute double-minor for high sticking at 16:39.

Lundqvist was at his best during that four-minute kill, battling through traffic to make four key saves. He received some big-time help when Girardi raced across the slot to cut off an open scoring chance for Nashville and a minute later when Kevin Klein crushed Colin Wilson to the ice, stole the puck at the Rangers goal line, and whipped the puck the length of the ice.

The second period started similarly to the first, but Nash took matters into his own hands nearing the five-minute mark. Nash collected the puck in his own end and jetted up left wing to start a 3-on-2 rush. Yandle skated down the middle towards the net, but Nash instead zipped a shot past Pekka Rinne to give New York a 1-0 lead at 4:32.

The goal, Nash's sixth of the season and fourth in the past two games, was unassisted, and came at a time in the game when the Rangers were being outshot 16-4.

Shortly after Nash's score Lundqvist made an acrobatic sprawling pad save to rob Nashville's Gabriel Bourque on the door step and preserve the one-goal lead. There would be plenty more theatrics and clutch saves from Lundqvist before the second period came to a close, with New York leading 1-0, though being outshot 25-7 and out-attempted by an incredible sum of 62-21.

Adding to Nashville's growing frustration in its extended scoreless streak was a sequence at 12:32 of the second when Lundqvist missed on a poke check of James Neal, sliding way out of his net as a result. With only Klein between him and the open Rangers net, Nashville's Filip Forsberg sailed a shot high and wide of the cage.

The Rangers finally picked up their game offensively in the third, due in part to receiving their first power play of the night just 36 seconds into the period. Though they didn;t score on the man advantage New York recorded four shots on goal, and two minutes after the power play ended Stepan doubled the Rangers' lead.

Hayes, bumped up from the third line to play right wing with Stepan and Chris Kreider, swung a pass on left wing to Staal, and the Rangers defenseman sent a quick slick pass into the low slot where a wide-open Stepan buried his sixth goal at 4:23 giving the Blueshirts a 2-0 lead.

Six minutes later Hayes was credited with a power play goal to up the lead to 3-0. After a face off win Hayes wristed a shot from right wing that hit a Predator in front and deflected past Rinne at 10:38. Like Nash and Stepan, Hayes scored hiss sixth goal of the season.

In the midst of a nine-games-in-15-days stretch the Rangers return to action Wednesday night at The Garden when they host the Atlantic Division leaders, the Montreal Canadiens, in a pre-Thanksgiving battle.

Jim Cerny
BlueshirtsUnited.com

FINAL BOX SCORE: NY RANGERS 3 NASHVILLE PREDATORS 0
Scoring Summary
1st Period
NONE
2nd Period
04:32 NYR Rick Nash (6) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE 1 - 0 NYR
3rd Period
04:23 NYR Derek Stepan (6) Wrist shot - ASST: Marc Staal (7), Kevin Hayes (8) 2 - 0 NYR
10:38 NYR PPG - Kevin Hayes (6) Wrist shot - ASST: Keith Yandle (10), Oscar Lindberg (7) 3 - 0 NYR 

Penalty Summary
1st Period
11:07 NYR Dan Girardi Interference - 2 min against James Neal
13:31 NYR Keith Yandle Holding - 2 min against Gabriel Bourque
16:39 NYR Derek Stepan Hi stick - double minor - 4 min against Craig Smith
2nd Period
15:32 NYR Rick Nash Tripping - 2 min against Austin Watson
3rd Period
00:36 NSH Craig Smith Tripping - 2 min against Derek Stepan
08:53 NSH Gabriel Bourque Tripping - 2 min against Jarret Stoll
10:45 NSH James Neal Roughing - 2 min against Dominic Moore
17:31 NYR J.T. Miller Roughing - 2 min against Roman Josi
17:31 NSH Roman Josi Roughing - 2 min against Oscar Lindberg
18:13 NSH James Neal Slashing - 2 min against Keith Yandle
18:13 NSH Mike Ribeiro Misconduct (10 min) - 10 min against Derick Brassard


Shots  By Period
Period NSH NYR
1st 14 3
2nd 11 4
3rd 6 12
Total 31 19


Team Stats
Category NSH NYR
Power Plays 0/5 1/4
Hits 24 25
Faceoff Wins 25 28
Giveaways 7 6
Takeaways 8 10
Blocked Shots 14 26
Penalty Minutes 20 12

NY RANGERS 3 STARS OF THE GAME:
1. HENRIK LUNDQVIST NYR
2. KEVIN HAYES NYR
3. RICK NASH NYR