Devils vs. Rangers: Rangers Drop Second in a Row at Home

So much for a goaltending duel.

Henrik Lundqvist allowed three weak goals on twelve shots before being pulled in the second period, while Martin Brodeur looked shaky in stopping 25 of 27 shots against him. Brodeur also uncharacteristically allowed a sharp-angle slap shot goal to break the Devils' 3-0 lead.  

The loss also ruined Vinny Prospal's season debut. Returning from a knee injury, Prospal scored, skated well, and showed no signs of rust playing first line minutes.

His presence could help the offensively slumping Rangers and their anemic power play. Prospal was second on the team in scoring last season, playing mainly with Marian Gaborik on the top line.  

Ilya Kovalchuk opened the scoring with his 15th goal just 1:04 into the game, as his wrist shot from between the right circle and boards may have benefitted from a deflection off Rangers defenseman Michael Sauer.  Definitely a stoppable shot, but if Lundqvist has an Achilles heel, it's definitely high shots.  

Marc Staal took a tripping penalty at midperiod, giving the Devils their first power play.  During the kill Brandon Prust attempted to lift Kovalchuk’s stick but missed and hit his helmet instead, prompting Kovalchuk to grab his face and search for blood. Prust was called for high sticking, giving the Devils a 40 second two man advantage which the Rangers successfully killed off. 

The Rangers had a chance to tie on their first power play at the end of the period, but Brandon Dubinsky’s tip-in attempt on a bouncing puck between his legs went off the crossbar and out.  

The Devils played a solid two-way second period, outshooting the Rangers 11-5 and scoring twice off takeaways. Dainius Zubrus scored his ninth of the season on a slap shot that slipped through Lundqvist and rolled toward the goal line. Dan Girardi tried to clear the puck, but it bounced off Lundqvist and in. 

The Devils increased their lead on an unobstructed slap shot from the point by Brian Rolston, his 7th goal of the season, which prompted John Tortorella to pull Lundqvist in favor of backup Martin Biron.

Ryan Callahan finally put the Rangers on the board with his 12th goal on a slap shot from about the same spot as Kovalchuk's earlier score. 

In the third period, the Rangers found themselves with a two-man advantage after goalie interference by Dainius Zubrus and a delay of game by Anton Volchenkov. During the five on three, Vinny Prospal’s pass across the crease deflected off Devils defenseman Henrik Tallinder and past Martin Brodeur to make it 3-2. Prospal dropped to his knees in celebration, a well deserved reward for his tireless efforts to return this season. 

Dubinsky had a chance to tie the game after a nice wraparound fake and pass from Brandon Prust, but was unable to lift the puck past the downed Brodeur.  

The Rangers put on their usual “down by a goal” flurry in the last ten minutes, outshooting the Devils 15-2 overall in the third period. Their attack culminated with a shot through Brodeur and off the far post with one second remaining on the clock.

Aside from Lundqvist, the Rangers played a decent game.

Their offense was simply stifled by the Devils, who looked almost clairvoyant in breaking up passes in the neutral zone. 

The loss was the Rangers’ second straight home defeat, having fallen in a shootout to Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Not coincidentally, it was also the second game in a row in which Henrik Lundqvist allowed three goals. Martin Biron played well in relief, stopping all six shots against him.  

Young defenseman Michael Del Zotto was in the lineup again in favor of Steve Eminger.  Del Zotto played well offensively, even earning ice time in the final minute, but voided a power play when he lost the puck in the neutral zone and immediately took a penalty to prevent a breakaway. 

Del Zotto has had a problem this year with telegraphing passes, and Patrick Elias made a good play to steal the puck and draw the penalty.  Most painfully, the sequence occurred immediately after the Rangers had made it 3-2 with a minute remaining on their advantage.  

In recent games, the Rangers are earning scoring chances and dominating play in the third period, but simply can’t seem to finish. Constantly falling behind doesn’t help. They've been slow out of the gate with weak goaltending and/or defensive lapses early in games. 

With the loss the Rangers are now 7th in the Eastern Conference, six points ahead of 9th place Carolina, a team with two games in hand.  

Hopefully, the return of a de facto first line (Dubinsky, Prospal, and Callahan) gives the Rangers some life and they'll get some breaks to go their way.

While still very young, the Rangers are better than their recent results. It'd be considered a let down if they failed to make the playoffs. 

The Rangers next play on Saturday, February 5, against the 6th place Montreal Canadiens.