Zucc and Monster Nash Lead Rangers in Wild Win over Leafs

Frank Gunn/AP

The Rangers started out fast at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and scored two early goals, as Dan Boyle and Mats Zuccarello tallied a goal apiece on two assists each from Rick Nash and Derick Brassard. It looked like the game would be over early, but James Reimer began to make some outstanding saves after giving up the two early goals.

Then, young 20 year old Defenseman Morgan Rielly scored very quickly off of a face off win during a Toronto Power Play to cut the lead in half. That was how the first period ended.

The second period opened just like the first had, with the Broadway Blueshirts scoring quickly. This time it was Kevin Hayes on the receiving end of an awesome pass from Marc Staal to beat Reimer and make the score 3-1. But the Leafs answered back less than a minute later, as Stephane Robidas took a wrist shot from 59 feet away and was able to elude Cam Talbot to cut the lead to 3-2. The puck was not tipped or deflected in front, but a Leaf did wave his stick at the puck. This is becoming a sore point for Cam, these long distance shots. Teams are going to start firing the puck from anywhere on the ice: meaning distance and angles. Cam must work on this in practice.

Dominic Moore on the Penalty Kill once again showed just how dangerous he can be, as he was able to control the puck in Toronto’s end and wheel around and blast one that ate up Reimer and gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead.

But Morgan Rielly was able to walk in and rip one past Talbot to make it a one goal game once again. Then it was Daniel Winnik that tied it at 4-4 and made it real uneasy for the Rangers.

But it was a great play by Dominic Moore, who although he fell to the ice, he was able to get the puck to Nash, who got it to Zucc, who ripped one past Reimer for the game winning goal.

The Leafs did apply some last second pressure, including a shot by Nazem Kadri that hit the far post and bounced harmlessly away. But Cam Talbot stopped the shots he had to stop when the Blueshirts got their last lead of the game and the Rangers start a four game road trip with a much needed victory.

Scoring:

NYR: Dan Boyle ((7), Assisted by Derick Brassard & Rick Nash

NYR: Mats Zuccarello (9), Assisted by Rick Nash & Derick Brassard

TOR: Morgan Rielly (6) PPG, Assisted by Cody Franson & Tyler Bozak

NYR: Kevin Hayes (8), Assisted by Marc Staal and Kevin Klein

TOR: Stephane Robidas (1), Assisted by Leo Komarov

NYR: Dominic Moore (5) SHG, Assisted by Carl Hagelin & Marc Staal

TOR: Morgan Rielly (7), Assisted by Daniel Winnik & Nazem Kadri

TOR: Daniel Winnik (5), Unassisted

NYR: Mats Zuccarello (10), Assisted by Rick Nash & Dominic Moore

Team Stats                              NYR                              TOR

Shots on Goal                         39                                  34

Power Play                              0 for 2                           1 for 2

Hits                                         28                                  35

Face Off Wins                        27                                  40

Giveaways                              10                                  14

Takeaways                             10                                  10

Blocked Shots                         12                                  13

3 Stars of the Game:

3^rd Star: Rick Nash: 3 Assists

2^nd Star: Morgan Rielly: 2 Goals

1^st Star: Mats Zuccarello: 2 Goals

Goalie Stats:

James Reimer: 34 Saves on 39 Shots for a SV% of .872

Cam Talbot: 30 Saves on 34 Shots for a SV% of .882

Broadway Bits:

The Rangers have won 24 of their last 34 games (24-9-1).

The Rangers are 11-4-0 in their last 15 road games.

The Rangers are now 18-1-2 when leading after the first period.

They are 23-0-1 when leading after two periods.

The Blueshirts have scored seven shorthanded goals this season and three in their last six games.

The Rangers have won 56 regular season games, dating back to 2/14/2010, when scoring five or more goals in a game.

Zucc had two goals and five shots on goal in 18:03 of ice time

Rick Nash had three assists, a plus 2 rating in 16:28 of ice time

Dominic Moore had a goal and an assist

Alain Vigneault won his 498^th NHL game and moved past his current boss Glen Sather into sole possession of 22^nd place on the all-time win list

Dan Boyle and Kevin Hayes had a goal each and Derick Brassard notched two assists.

Marc Staal had two assists and Kevin Klein and Carl Hagelin had one each.

The Rangers are back in third place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 31-16-5 for 67 points

They are one point ahead of Washington with two games in hand

They are one point behind Pittsburgh with one game in hand

They are four points behind the Islanders with two games in hand

The Rangers will travel to Colorado and play the Avalanche on Thursday evening and then go to Arizona to face the Coyotes on Saturday before returning to New York where they will face off at the Islanders on Monday 2/16/15

While the Rangers are on Long Island to play the Islanders and are off on Tuesday the 17^th, Madison Square Garden will go to the dogs, as the Westminster Kennel Club comes to town. I may own two cats, but I do love my doggies. I watch the Kennel Club show every year it is on TV.