12-13-2019, 01:11 AM
NEWARK, N. David Thompson Jersey .J. - Henrik Lundqvist has done more than set a couple of franchise records for the New York Rangers this week. The Swedish goalie is keeping the Blueshirts in the thick of playoff contention. Lundqvist made 21 saves in posting his Rangers record 50th NHL shutout, and New York improved its playoff chances with a 2-0 victory over the fading New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Lundqvists fifth shutout of the season broke a tie with Ed Giacomin for the career mark, and it came less than a week after he set the Rangers record for wins, eclipsing Mike Richter (301). "We might as well do it in one week so we dont have to talk about it for a while," Lundqvist said. "Just a great feeling. This game was so important, and the points were important." The win came just 24 hours after Lundqvist posted a 3-1 win over Columbus in a game between teams fighting for playoff positions in the Metropolitan Division. New York is in third place, four points in front of Columbus and one point behind Philadelphia. Both teams have played fewer games than the Rangers. "We are still in a position where we are fighting for our lives," Lundqvist said. "We have to keep pushing ourselves and have the mindset that every point could be the difference right now. Its going to be until the end, the last game. A lot of it is going to be mental, how we push each other and approach every game as a must win." Lundqvist has held opponents to two goals or fewer in 16 of his last 23 games, and he is 6-2 with two shutouts in his last eight starts. "Hes been tremendous," defenceman Ryan McDonagh said. "He has been in this position before. He is the leader on the back end, the backbone of our team. You can see it. He is talking a lot and making great efforts on second and third pucks around the crease. We need him to continue." Rick Nash scored his team-leading, eighth game winning goal and Derek Stepan added an empty-net, power-play tally with 8 seconds left to give the Rangers their third straight road win. New Jersey lost for the fourth time in five games and is in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight year. "It was a tough one," said New Jerseys Martin Brodeur, who made 25 saves. "We played a good game out there. It was a chess match. Just kind of a fluky goal was decisive in this game. Its unfortunate." Lundqvist was good and lucky. He stopped Jaromir Jagr on a first-period breakaway and had a third-period shot in close go off the post. He also survived a wild goal-mouth scramble, with Jagr and Travis Zajac whacking at a loose puck with 39 seconds to play after the Devils pulled Brodeur while New York was on a power play The Rangers are nine points ahead of the Devils with 10 games left. New Jersey has a game in hand. Nash made it 1-0 at 10:33 of the second period on a shot from the left boards that seemed to catch Brodeur off guard after Rangers forward Chris Kreider was sent flying through the crease. Following a turnover in the Devils zone, Stepan attempted a cross-ice pass to Kreider as he cut toward the crease. The rookie was knocked off his feet and might have distracted Brodeur as he tumbled to the ice. The puck went to the side boards, and Nash fired in his 23rd goal before Brodeur could cover the bad-angle shot. "I took a peek first and saw he wasnt back yet," Nash said. "With him, hes a great goaltender so you have to shoot everything on net." Brodeur said he lost his bearing after bumping with Kreider. "Even now, I dont know where the puck went," he said. "I ran into the guy who was trying to get the tip-in, and by the time I recovered I think the puck was in." Lundqvist and Brodeur have been one of the best matchups in recent years in this series and they didnt disappoint. Lundqvist, who had very little to do early, faced his first shot when Jagr got a breakaway after taking a pass from his end. The 41-year-old forward tried to beat Lundqvist with a move from left to right. He then reached back with his stick to tuck the puck into the left corner. Lundqvist kept his pad on the ice and made the save. He also stopped Dainius Zubrus from between the circles midway through the period. Brodeurs best stops in the first period came late with a glove save on a screen shot by McDonagh and two saves on Marc Staal in the closing minutes. He was outstanding in the third period, particularly on a power play when Jagr was sent off for cross-checking. NOTES: Rangers D John Moore missed his first game since early December because of concussion-like symptoms sustained in the game against Columbus on Friday. Raphael Diaz, acquired from Vancouver at the trade deadline, made his debut in Moores place. ... Devils fourth-line forward Ryan Carter returned to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury. Stepan has points in 11 of 13 games. ... The Rangers are 14-4-1 in games in which Nash scores a goal. Al Harrington Jersey . Charlottetown scored four times in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the defending champion Halifax Mooseheads on Friday. Evan Fournier Jersey . “Im not sure well get Melky Cabrera at all,” said Gibbons. The 29-year-old left fielder struggled all season with knee and hamstring problems. Cabrera was first on the disabled list from June 27-July 20 with tendinitis in his left knee. https://www.cheapnuggets.com/457y-randy-...ggets.html . JOHNS, N.DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Tiger Woods doesnt sound too worried over matching his worst score in America on a course where he had won eight times. "I wouldnt read anything into what happened Saturday at Torrey Pines," Woods said Tuesday after an 18-hole exhibition for past winners of the Dubai Desert Classic. Woods was the defending champion at the Farmers Insurance Open when he sent seven straight holes making bogey or worse - including consecutive double bogeys for the first time in more than two years, on his way to a 79 as he missed the 54-hole cut. "It was just one of those days that happens, and it was one of the trains I just couldnt get off," said Woods, who was speaking for the first time since the third round in San Diego on Saturday. "There was nothing different with my ball-striking today (Tuesday) compared to last Saturday." Woods had three early birdies in the "Former Champions Challenge," but lost momentum and finished with a shot into the water for double bogey on the par-5 18th hole. He shot 71 and tied for eighth. Henrik Stenson, who won the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai last year, and Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain, each had 66. They tied for first and each earned $250,000. Rory McIlroy and Alvaroo Quiros tied for third at 68. P. J. Dozier Jersey. Woods said he spent Sunday at home in Florida working on his putting before heading to Dubai. He is a two-time champion of this event and has finished no worse than fifth all but one time in six appearances. That was in 2011, his worst year as a pro. "I went home and had a nice day off," Woods said. "Worked on putting a bit in the backyard and that was it. I am not that far off. Its just that I had one bad day, and that happens." Woods will play the opening two rounds with McIlroy and defending champion Stephen Gallacher. Woods played the Tuesday exhibition with Gallacher and Fred Couples. He said he hasnt played with Gallacher since the 1995 Walker Cup at Royal Porthcawl. Woods and John Harris defeated Gallacher and Gordon Sherry in a foursomes match. Woods and McIlroy also played together a year ago in Abu Dhabi, where both of them missed the cut. Woods was one shot inside the cut until being assessed a two-shot penalty for taking what he thought was a free drop from an embedded lie in a sandy area. McIlroy began his season two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi and finished one shot behind. He was penalized in the third round for not taking full relief from an area marked ground under repair. ' ' '