Atlanta Thrashers whitewash New York Rangers, 3-0: NHL Recap
Eric Boulton scored a third-period goal while Rookie Ondrej Pavelec turned away 29 shots to record his fourth shutout of the season and sixth in four NHL seasons, as the Atlanta Thrashers
took a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
“It doesn’t matter who you are playing against,” Pavelec said. “Of course it was a big game for them, but it doesn’t mean anything for us. We always want to win. I’m happy for the win,
but two more games and the season is over.”
Rob Schremp and Andrew Ladd each also lit the lamp for the Thrashers, who had lost three of four games in the games which they have played this season. Atlanta beat the Rangers for the
third time in the four-game season series.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist surrendered all three goals on 26 shots for the Rangers, who had won 10 of 14 (10-3-1) games in the games which they have played this season.
Currently, the Rangers have 91 points and sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. They are two points ahead of ninth-place the Carolina Hurricanes and one point behind the seventh-placed
Buffalo Sabres. New York will close out its season at home against the division rival, New Jersey Devils, on Saturday while Carolina and Buffalo have two games remaining.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” the Rangers' forward, Brian Boyle said. “It’s unfortunate, it’s devastating, but we have another chance, which is good. We’re confident we can do well on
Saturday and hope for the best.”
Both teams could not score in the opening period. Pavelec made 10 saves in the first while Lundqvist stopped eight shots.
Atlanta got the scoring started in the eighth minute of middle stanza when the defender, Andrey Zubarev, playing in his second NHL contest, sent a pass into the right circle where Schremp
unleashed a wrist-shot that beat Lundqvist to make it 1-0.
The Thrashers doubled their advantage only 15 second later when Ladd scooped the puck away from the Rangers' defender, Dan Girardi, and fired a backhand shot past Lundqvist for his 28th
goal of the season.
Pavelec was solid between the pipes, stopping nine shot in the second period.
Atlanta extended its lead to 3-0 in the fifth minute of the final frame. The game was set up by Johnny Oduya, who controlled the loose puck in his own end and sent a pass to the front
where Boulton banged the puck home.
The Rangers had multiple chances to score in the third, but Pavelec turned aside their every chance to preserve the victory.
The Rangers' Head Coach, John Tortorella, was disappointed that his side did not perform well. He said after the game, "We didn't play well, and let's face it, we laid an egg. We need
to move by this as quickly as possible."
It would be interesting to see how the Atlanta Thrashers maintain their level of expectations in the play-offs.
Tags: