Rangers Complete Road Trip with a 3-1 Win in Washington

Photo: Alex Brandon, AP

The NY Rangers have just completed the hardest four game road trip they will have this season, and the most difficult five game stretch any team could face. First they defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1 at MSG, then they lost in OT in Detroit, 2-1. The Blackhawks were next and they fell 1-0 in OT. The Islanders fell 2-1 and then at Washington, the Caps fell 3-1. These three straight wins and nine points out of a possible 10 have vaulted the NY Rangers into sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division.

This was just another hard fought game with more than a touch of nastiness, as the Caps and the Blueshirts got on each other right away. Pucks and bodies were flying all over the ice, as both goalies were sharp as tacks. But it was Carl Hagelin who opened the scoring with an easy chance from in close that beat Holtby and gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

A penalty on the Rangers, that actually could have been a double call, on Joel Ward as well, gave the Caps a power play. It did not take Alex Ovechkin long to power one past Cam Talbot and tie the score 1-1.

The Rangers did not quit or become afraid of the Caps, they just kept playing their game and on a beautiful feed from Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller scored his seventh of the season and gave the Rangers the lead once more.

But the first period ended very badly for the Blueshirts, as they were called for not one, but two penalties and the Caps would begin the second with a two-man advantage. No one wants to have the Caps on a two-man power play, but the Rangers were more than up to the task. Not only did they kill it off, but they held Washington to just one shot on goal.

The pressure by the Caps during the third period was nerve wracking, but Cam was cool and calm throughout it all. He and the defense stymied every Cap chance and then they struck. Chris Kreider anticipated a cross ice pass and intercepted it and was off to the races. Marty St. Louis joined the race and it turned out to be a two on 0. A nifty little pass to MSL and the score was suddenly 3-1 Rangers.

And that was the way in ended. The Rangers have played five straight playoff teams, five of the best teams in the league and they have given up five goals in five games. Yes, you read that correctly; five goals in five games and four victories.

Scoring:

NYR: Carl Hagelin (15), Assisted by Kevin Hayes & Dan Boyle

WSH: Alex Ovechkin (45) PPG, Assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov & Joel Ward

NYR: J.T. Miller (7), Assisted by Kevin Hayes

NYR: Marty St. Louis (19), Assisted by Chris Kreider

Team Stats                              NYR                              WSH

Shots on Goal                         31                                  29

Power Play                              0 for 3                           1 for 3

Hits                                         30                                  34

Face Off Wins                        29                                  38

Giveaways                              8                                    10

Takeaways                             5                                    12

Blocked Shots                         20                                  15

Goalie Stats:

Braden Holtby: 28 Saves on 31 Shots for a SV% of .903

Cam Talbot: 28 Saves on 29 Shots for a SV% of .966

3 Stars of the Game:

3^rd Star: Kevin Hayes: 2 Assists

2^nd Star: Matt Niskanen: 4 Shots on Goal

1^st Star: Cam Talbot: 28 Saves on 29 Shots for a SV% of .966

Broadway Bits:

The Rangers are 12-1-3 in their last 16 games.

They are tied for first in the League with 91 points and goal differential (plus 46)

The Blueshirts are 18-5-1 in their last 24 road games

The Rangers are now 28-0-1 when leading after two periods and are 32-5-3 when scoring the first goal of the game

Kevin Hayes had two assists, two shots on goal and a plus 2 rating in 10:40 of ice time

J.T. Miller had his second game winning goal of the season

Carl Hagelin had two shots on goal, two hits and posted a plus 2 rating in 12:39 of ice time

Marty St. Louis had a goal, two shots on goal and posted a plus 1 rating in 16:43 of ice time

Dan Boyle had an assist, two hits, one blocked shot and posted a plus 1 rating in 18:38 of ice time

Mats Zuccarello had two hits and one shot on goal in 16:10 of ice time. He also played in his 208^th career NHL game, which made him the all-time game leader for Norwegian-born players

The Broadway Blueshirts now have a record of 42-17-7 for 91 points, which has them atop the Metropolitan Division

They are one point in front of the Islanders with 3 games in hand

They are five points in front of the Penguins

They are nine points in front of Washington with 2 games in hand

In the Eastern Conference, they are tied with Montreal, and have one game in hand

In the NHL, they are tied with the Ducks, but have 2 games in hand

They are tied with Nashville and have two games in hand

Right now, the NY Rangers are the hottest team in the League and have games in hand on everyone they are in the race with for the President’s Cup: overall point total winner and home ice throughout the playoffs

The Rangers will play at Buffalo on Saturday night and then play the Florida Panthers at MSG on Sunday at 5:00PM