Kevin Hayes and Henrik Lundqvist lead the Rangers to their second consecutive Shootout Win
Coming off a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks last Tuesday, the New York Rangers have been dominant in the last three games with a shutout win and two shootout wins.
Sunday Night, the Rangers, coming off a 2-1 Shootout Win in Nashville, hosted the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden. Both teams were scoreless until New Jersey scored a Power Play Goal in the second period off Henrik Lundqvist.
After being down 1-0, the Rangers finally scored off Devils' goalkeeper Schneider in the 3rd period as Chris Kreider tied the game at 1 with his 9th goal of the season. About 2 minutes later, the Devils regained the lead 2-1.
With 1:14 left to go in the game, The Devils looked like they were going to win the game. Derek Stepan wasn't going to let that happen as he tied the game up 2-2, sending the game into Overtime.
Neither team scored in Overtime, which meant the game would have to go to a Shootout. This was the second consecutive shootout for the Rangers. To start the shootout, Mats Zuccarello was first up for the Rangers. He was able to make the shot off Schneider and Henrik Lundqvist saved the first attempt made by the Devils.
The Rangers had to score one more goal and stop the Devils from scoring to win the game. Jimmy Vesey was up next for the Rangers, but missed his attempt. Then, the Devils were able to score and tie up the shootout at 1-1. In the third attempt, the Rangers' Derek Stepan's shot hit the post and missed. The last Devils' player missed their shot, sending the shootout to the second round.
To start the second round, Kevin Hayes was the next Ranger to try his luck and he made his shot. It was all down to Henrik Lundqvist in goal to see if the Rangers would get the win or if the Devils were going to tie. Henrik Lundqvist continued to live up to his nickname "King Hankie" as he blocked Damon Stevenson's shot which ended the game. The Rangers won the shootout 2-1 and the game 3-2.
Yesterday, Henrik Lundqvist was named the second NHL Star of the week, behind Chicago Blackhawks' left-wing Artemi Panarin. Lundqvist is 3-0-0 with a 0.98 goals-against-average and a .967 save percentage.
The Rangers travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins tonight at 7pm as they look to extend their 3 game-winning streak.
