Rangers Avenge Canucks Loss As Streak Continues

The New York Rangers blew out the Vancouver Canucks 7-2 last night. The Rangers continued their hot tear having won 10 of their last 12 games. This win avenged the loss the Canucks gave the Rangers last week back at the Garden which ended a 5 game winning streak. However, the Rangers have not let that one loss hurt them for they have continued their great play since then. Henrik Lundqvist had another amazing night stopping 36 of 38 shots, while, J.T. MIller and Kevin Hayes both scored 2 goals each. Mats Zuccarello also scored a goal and had 2 assists. The Rangers got the first goal after Miller deflected the puck between his own legs and through the 5 hole. Hayes made it 2-0 after a slap shot that beat Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom on the short side for his 7th goal of the season midway through the 2nd period. Lucas Sibisa then took a slashing penalty at the 13:27 mark which lead to Brandon Pirri scoring his 5th of the season on the power play 1:11 into the penalty after putting home a rebound on a Mika Zibanejad shot that gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead with 5:22 to play in the 2nd. Brandon Sutter then scored his 3rd goal of the season with 41 second left in the 2nd on a shot that he threw in from the sideboards that managed to find the back of the net to cut the Rangers lead down to 3-1. Hayes got his second goal of the game and 8th of the season on a breakaway 1:49 into the 3rd period to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead. Miller then added his second of the night and 7th of the season 42 seconds later after a nice pass from Zuccarello to up the lead to 5-1. Markus Granuld batted a shot past Lundqvist to cut the Rangers lead to 5-2 with 6:34 to play. However, Zuccarello scored his 7th of the season to give the Rangers a 6-2 lead with 4:58 to play. Nick Holden then scored a power play goal, his 2nd of the season, with 1:56 to go to cap off the scoring. The Rangers have now scored the most goals in the NHL with 72, 15 more than the next closest team. Also, they have the best goals for vs. goals against total at +34, which is 16 better than second place Montreal. The Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division by 4 points over the defending Stanley Cup Champions the Pittsburgh Penguins. Next up, the Rangers end their 4 game road trip against the fifth place Columbus Blue Jackets who are 2 points behind the lower wildcard spot.