Goal Line Report
These Guys Can Play
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/31/09 at 11:10 AM ET
Comments (0)
There is no doubt about it - Henrik Lundqvist saves his best games for Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, Lundqvist, who made 38 saves in his third shutout of the season, and the New York Rangers handed the Devils a 3-0 loss thanks to solid goaltending and timely scoring from Brandon Dubinsky, Dan Girardi and Ryan Callahan. The win gave Henrik an 18-6-4 record (regular season and playoffs included) against the Devils but as Henrik told the team’s web site after the game, he was just focused on picking up the two points.
“I am happy for this one because I made up my mind before the third period that I wanted this one, and it worked out,” Lundqvist said.
The Blueshirts knew how important this game was and that certainly showed in the first period as they came out and outshot their Hudson rivals 20-10 in the first period. They were relentless in their forecheck, put traffic in front of Brodeur, crashed the net for rebounds and were solid defensively, all marks of a playoff-caliber hockey club.
For the Rangers to keep marching on towards the playoffs, they will need to deliver the same kind of performance against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night and then again on Saturday afternoon against the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins, certainly not an easy task.
However, if last night’s game tells you anything, it should be that when the Rangers are on top of their game, they can be tough to beat.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: boston+bruins,
brandon+dubinsky,
carolina+hurricanes,
dan+girardi,
eastern+conference,
henrik+lundqvist,
martin+brodeur,
new+jersey+devils,
ryan+callahan
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Hoffman’s First Round Playoff Picks
Easy As 1-2-3 for the Blueshirts in Win Over the Devils
Seeding On the Line for the Blueshirts
A Glass Half Full Look at the Blueshirts
Where is the Rangers’ Playoff Team?
Rangers Offense Stepping Up at the Right Time
Richards Getting Hot at the Right Time for the Blueshirts
Four Teams That You Should Not Want to Play in the Postseason
About Goal Line Report
Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla's Korner, you can also find Patrick's work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire's Ultimate Hockey web site.
Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick's musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, TheFourthPeriod.com, Spector's Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.
For questions, comments and hip checks, feel free to e-mail Patrick at patrickhoffman3530@gmail.com.
Watch great hockey at a low price with Dish Network Specials