GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: NEW JERSEY (5-7) at NY RANGERS (5-7)

NHL: NEW JERSEY at NY RANGERS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
NEW JERSEY 1
NY RANGERS 2</div>

 

By Larry Fleisher
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils have enjoyed thegoaltending edge in their meetings with the New York Rangers forsome time. Now that the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist andMartin Brodeur is getting older, they seem to be gaining someground in that area.


Lundqvist made 28 saves and stopped all three shots he faced inthe shootout and Petr Prucha had the only tally in the bonusformat to lead the Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Devils onSaturday night at Madison Square Garden.


After the first two shooters failed to score, Prucha got thebetter of Brodeur with a nifty fake. Coming straight down theslot, Prucha faked a shot and got Brodeur to go down justslightly before lifting a shot over his shoulder for the onlytally of the shootout.


"I know that I wasn't scoring much this season, but I feel goodon the ice and I didn't lose my confidence at all," Prucha said."I know what I wanted to do in the shootout, and I did it andit was in. I was just real happy that we won."


"To me, Petr is a scorer," Rangers coach Tom Renney said."Certainly Petr is very comfortable in that circumstance, and hedoes know where the net is. His shot was just a terrificshot."


The Rangers might not have even been in position to win in theshootout if not for Lundqvist. He stopped Zach Parise, BrianGionta and clinched New York's third straight victory by denyingJohn Madden.


"It was tough," said Lundqvist, who is 13-8 lifetime inshootouts. "You never know. It's so close when you go to (a)shootout, and you definitely want to get the win."

In 1993-94, Brodeur's rookie season, the Rangers swept thesix-game series, but over the next decade, the edge in netbelonged to Brodeur. The three-time Vezina Trophy winner won 29of the 51 meetings, but since Lundqvist has joined the Rangersin 2005, the tide has swung in favor of the Swede.

Lundqvist has two wins against the Devils this season and is7-2-3 lifetime vs. New Jersey.


"The couple of games we've played against them (this year), he'sobviously been their best player," Gionta said. "He just findsthe puck. He finds a way for it to hit him and covers the netpretty well."


Lundqvist, who along with Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff and SanJose's Evgeni Nabokov are the only goaltenders to appear inevery game this season, has allowed two goals or less in 10starts and entered Saturday with a 1.67 goals against average.One of those games was a 22-save shutout over the Devils onOctober 25.


Besides having their longest winning streak of the young season,the Rangers also reached the .500 mark (6-6-1). They have wonfour of five on their six-game homestand that ends Mondayagainst the Philadelphia Flyers.


"You need the luck," Lundqvist said. "This week has been reallygood for us. We've had a couple of good bounces finally, and Ithink we deserve it after a couple of tough games."

They have done so primarily due to the play of Lundqvist, whohas allowed just two goals in the four wins and surrendered just21 overall while the Rangers wait for their offense to getgoing.


Brodeur finished with 28 saves, including a pad stop on ChrisDrury's breakaway attempt in overtime. He remained two shy of500 career victories, and his first chance at history could beThursday against Philadelphia.


"I'm disappointed with the outcome," Brodeur said. "I thoughtwe played a really good game on the road. It's unfortunate, butwe'll take that point."


The Rangers supported Lundqvist early on as they scored thefirst goal just 6:01 into the game.


Former Devil Scott Gomez netted his third of the season on anassist from Prucha. But before Gomez's tally could be announcedin the arena, Sergei Brylin tied it 33 seconds later.

Playing in his second game against Brodeur since signing as afree agent with the Rangers, Gomez stationed himself in front ofhis former teammate. When Prucha's shot was kicked out byBrodeur, Gomez used his backhand to put home the rebound.

"I thought it would be a lot different," Gomez said of scoringon Brodeur. "I hadn't scored in a while, I got the goal. Itwasn't like, 'I got one by Marty.' Maybe later on in life, I'llalways know I got one by him. But that comes secondary."

Brylin, who was another longtime teammate of Gomez, tied it whendefenseman Johnny Oduya came out from near the right goalpostand whipped a perfect centering pass that the Russian put pastLundqvist.


Lundqvist kept the game tied with a glove save on former Rangersdefenseman Mike Mottau with just over 5 1/2 minutes to play,while Brodeur did his part by denying Prucha on an odd-man rushwith 1:46 remaining in the period.


The goalies continued their duel in the second as Lundqvistsprawled to make a glove save on Travis Zajac's attempteddeflection of a shot by Gionta with 11 1/2 minutes remaining.Just over three minutes later, Brodeur robbed Gomez with anotherglove save.


Both remained on their games in the third as Lundqvist deniedGionta's stuff attempt before stopping David Clarkson and makinga stick save on Michael Rupp. Brodeur's best save of the thirdcame with just under 12 minutes remaining, when he got hisglove on a point-blank shot by Drury.

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at NY RANGERS

<div class="pre">------------------------------------------------
New Jersey 1 0 0 0 (0) --1
Ny Rangers 1 0 0 0 (1) --2
------------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Ny Rangers, Scott Gomez 3 (Petr Prucha,
Fedor Tyutin),6:01. 2, New Jersey, Sergei Brylin 2 (Johnny Oduya, Mike
Mottau),6:34. Penalties: R Hollweg, Nyr (kneeing), 11:11; S Avery,
Nyr (slashing), 14:23; Z Parise, Njd (unsportsmanlike cond), 19:46; M
Brodeur, Njd (diving), 19:46; M Hossa, Nyr (goalie interference),
19:46; S Gomez, Nyr (hooking), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Gionta, Njd (tripping), 8:35; J Oduya,
Njd (hooking), 10:40; M Rupp, Njd (major fighting), 16:10; C Orr, Nyr
(major fighting), 16:10.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: V Vishnevski, Njd (hooking), 4:34.

SHOOTOUT -- Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa (missed), Petr
Prucha (goal), Nigel Dawes (saved). New Jersey, Zach Parise (saved),
Brian Gionta (saved), John Madden (missed).

Shots on goal:
--------------------------------------------
New Jersey 9 8 12 0 --29
Ny Rangers 9 6 7 5 --27
--------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: New Jersey - 0 of 3, Ny Rangers - 0 of 3.
Goalies : New Jersey, Martin Brodeur (27 shots, 26 saves; record:
4-6-1). Ny Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist (29 shots, 28 saves; record:
6-6-1). A: 18,200. Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Ian Walsh. Linesmen:
Pierre Champoux, Scott Driscoll.</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at NY RANGERS

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY 1 0 0 0 (0) --1
NY RANGERS 1 0 0 0 (1) --2
-----------------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Ny Rangers, Scott Gomez 3 (Petr Prucha,
Fedor Tyutin),6:01. 2, New Jersey, Sergei Brylin 2 (Johnny Oduya, Mike
Mottau),6:34. Penalties: R Hollweg, Nyr (kneeing), 11:11; S Avery,
Nyr (slashing), 14:23; Z Parise, Njd (unsportsmanlike cond), 19:46; M
Brodeur, Njd (diving), 19:46; M Hossa, Nyr (goalie interference),
19:46; S Gomez, Nyr (hooking), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Gionta, Njd (tripping), 8:35; J Oduya,
Njd (hooking), 10:40; M Rupp, Njd (major fighting), 16:10; C Orr, Nyr
(major fighting), 16:10.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: V Vishnevski, Njd (hooking), 4:34.

SHOOTOUT -- Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa (missed), Petr
Prucha (goal), Nigel Dawes (saved). New Jersey, Zach Parise (saved),
Brian Gionta (saved), John Madden (missed).

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY 9 8 12 0 --29
NY RANGERS 9 6 7 5 --27
---------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: NJD - 0 of 3, NYR - 0 of 3. Goalies : New
Jersey, Martin Brodeur (27 shots, 26 saves; record: 4-6-1). Ny
Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist (29 shots, 28 saves; record: 6-6-1). A:
18,200. Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Ian Walsh. Linesmen: Pierre
Champoux, Scott Driscoll.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

NEW JERSEY NY RANGERS
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
R Pelley 0 0 even 3 B Shanahan 0 0 even 2
J Madden 0 0 even 3 B Betts 0 0 even 0
B Gionta 0 0 -1 2 S Avery 0 0 even 0
D Zubrus 0 0 even 0 B Dubinsky 0 0 even 0
M Rupp 0 0 even 2 M Staal 0 0 even 2
S Brylin 1 0 +1 2 S Gomez 1 0 even 5
T Zajac 0 0 -1 2 C Drury 0 0 even 4
V Vishnevski 0 0 even 0 P Prucha 0 1 even 4
J Pandolfo 0 0 even 0 P Mara 0 0 -1 1
A Asham 0 0 even 0 C Orr 0 0 even 0
D Clarkson 0 0 +1 7 M Rozsival 0 0 even 1
P Elias 0 0 +1 3 J Strudwick 0 0 -1 0
M Mottau 0 1 +1 0 R Hollweg 0 0 even 0
J Oduya 0 1 +1 0 D Girardi 0 0 +1 0
A Greene 0 0 -1 0 F Tyutin 0 1 +1 2
P Martin 0 0 -1 0 J Jagr 0 0 even 3
S Brookbank 0 0 even 0 M Hossa 0 0 even 1
Z Parise 0 0 -1 5 N Dawes 0 0 even 2
K Rachunek GROIN M Malik RIB INJURY</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at NY RANGERS

<div class="pre">NHL NEW JERSEY AT NY RANGERS
NOTE: RESENDING BOX TO CORRECT PENALTIES FOR BRODEUR.</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at NY RANGERS

<div class="pre">------------------------------------------------
New Jersey 1 0 0 0 (0) --1
Ny Rangers 1 0 0 0 (1) --2
------------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Ny Rangers, Scott Gomez 3 (Petr Prucha,
Fedor Tyutin),6:01. 2, New Jersey, Sergei Brylin 2 (Johnny Oduya, Mike
Mottau),6:34. Penalties: R Hollweg, Nyr (kneeing), 11:11; S Avery,
Nyr (slashing), 14:23; M Hossa, Nyr (goalie interference), 19:46; M
Brodeur, Njd (diving), 19:46; S Gomez, Nyr (hooking), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Gionta, Njd (tripping), 8:35; J Oduya,
Njd (hooking), 10:40; M Rupp, Njd (major fighting), 16:10; C Orr, Nyr
(major fighting), 16:10.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: V Vishnevski, Njd (hooking), 4:34.

SHOOTOUT -- Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa (missed), Petr
Prucha (goal), Nigel Dawes (saved). New Jersey, Zach Parise (saved),
Brian Gionta (saved), John Madden (missed).

Shots on goal:
--------------------------------------------
New Jersey 9 8 12 0 --29
Ny Rangers 9 6 7 5 --27
--------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: New Jersey - 0 of 3, Ny Rangers - 0 of 3.
Goalies : New Jersey, Martin Brodeur (27 shots, 26 saves; record:
4-6-1). Ny Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist (29 shots, 28 saves; record:
6-6-1). A: 18,200. Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Ian Walsh. Linesmen:
Pierre Champoux, Scott Driscoll.</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at NY RANGERS

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY 1 0 0 0 (0) --1
NY RANGERS 1 0 0 0 (1) --2
-----------------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Ny Rangers, Scott Gomez 3 (Petr Prucha,
Fedor Tyutin),6:01. 2, New Jersey, Sergei Brylin 2 (Johnny Oduya, Mike
Mottau),6:34. Penalties: R Hollweg, Nyr (kneeing), 11:11; S Avery,
Nyr (slashing), 14:23; M Hossa, Nyr (goalie interference), 19:46; M
Brodeur, Njd (diving), 19:46; S Gomez, Nyr (hooking), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Gionta, Njd (tripping), 8:35; J Oduya,
Njd (hooking), 10:40; M Rupp, Njd (major fighting), 16:10; C Orr, Nyr
(major fighting), 16:10.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: V Vishnevski, Njd (hooking), 4:34.

SHOOTOUT -- Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa (missed), Petr
Prucha (goal), Nigel Dawes (saved). New Jersey, Zach Parise (saved),
Brian Gionta (saved), John Madden (missed).

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY 9 8 12 0 --29
NY RANGERS 9 6 7 5 --27
---------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: NJD - 0 of 3, NYR - 0 of 3. Goalies : New
Jersey, Martin Brodeur (27 shots, 26 saves; record: 4-6-1). Ny
Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist (29 shots, 28 saves; record: 6-6-1). A:
18,200. Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Ian Walsh. Linesmen: Pierre
Champoux, Scott Driscoll.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

NEW JERSEY NY RANGERS
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
R Pelley 0 0 even 3 B Shanahan 0 0 even 2
J Madden 0 0 even 3 B Betts 0 0 even 0
B Gionta 0 0 -1 2 S Avery 0 0 even 0
D Zubrus 0 0 even 0 B Dubinsky 0 0 even 0
M Rupp 0 0 even 2 M Staal 0 0 even 2
S Brylin 1 0 +1 2 S Gomez 1 0 even 5
T Zajac 0 0 -1 2 C Drury 0 0 even 4
V Vishnevski 0 0 even 0 P Prucha 0 1 even 4
J Pandolfo 0 0 even 0 P Mara 0 0 -1 1
A Asham 0 0 even 0 C Orr 0 0 even 0
D Clarkson 0 0 +1 7 M Rozsival 0 0 even 1
P Elias 0 0 +1 3 J Strudwick 0 0 -1 0
M Mottau 0 1 +1 0 R Hollweg 0 0 even 0
J Oduya 0 1 +1 0 D Girardi 0 0 +1 0
A Greene 0 0 -1 0 F Tyutin 0 1 +1 2
P Martin 0 0 -1 0 J Jagr 0 0 even 3
S Brookbank 0 0 even 0 M Hossa 0 0 even 1
Z Parise 0 0 -1 5 N Dawes 0 0 even 2
K Rachunek GROIN M Malik RIB INJURY</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at NY RANGERS

<div class="pre">NHL NEW JERSEY AT NY RANGERS
NOTE: RESENDING BOX TO CORRECT PENALTIES FOR NEW JERSEY.</div>