Rangers Shut Out Hated Devils 2-0 at The Garden Monday

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The New York Rangers shut out their hated cross Hudson River rivals, the New Jersey Devils 2-0 on Monday, February 27th at The Garden. The game reminded me of a Devil game from the 90s, with excellent defensive play by both clubs and only a total of 27 shots on goal. Ranger goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist earned his 30th win of the year making it 7 straight 30-win seasons for The King. One item to note was the dirty play by NJ’s David Clarkson. It pains me to say that Clarkson has actually become a hockey player but he put his team in a hole by taking so many dopey penalties. Here’s the list: 10 minutes misconduct, 2 minutes unsportsmanlike conduct, 2 minutes charging and 5 minutes fighting. Although one of his minors was served by Steve Bernier he was off the ice for quite a while and this no doubt hurt the Devils. A lot of the Devil players stated that they were coming for the Eastern Conference leading Rangers but the Blueshirts didn’t take the bait. The Rangers were able to play excellent team defense once again and clog their defensive zone. This clearly frustrated the Devils who were able to attempt many shots but most of them were blocked and never made it to Lundqvist. Late in the 1st period the Rangers worked the puck deep behind the goal line and the captain Ryan Callahan pushed the puck to Carl Hagelin in the low slot. Hagelin snapped the puck under the cross bar to give the Rangers a 1-0- lead. The scored stayed 1-0 until 18:54 of the 3rd period when the same line scored an empty net goal. The Devils were called for a delayed penalty (hooking or interference) against Hagelin who was taking the puck up the left side into the offensive zone. Hagelin found Callahan in front, who scored the empty netter for his 25th goal of the season. The three stars of the game were all Rangers: Hagelin, McDonagh and Lundqvist.