Henrik Lundqvist leads New York Rangers past New Jersey Devils 3-0 -NHL Playoffs Update
Playing at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, for the first time in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoff Final series did not affect New York as Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist shutout Devils, 3-0, taking a
2-1 lead on Saturday, May 19, 2012.
Rangers’ players showed that the fatigue began taking a toll on their performance as the offensive portion did not get going until the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Henrik Lundqvist was the man of the match for sure as he came out strong and stayed firm till the final second, blocking 36 shots and being under more stress compared to his counterpart, Martin Brodeur, who faced just 21 attempts.
"It's a bit of our personality," New York coach, John Tortorella, said. "I think Henrik, I've always said that about him, that's a bit of who we are. I think Henrik displays that, how he does compete. He's a great competitor as far as his preparation and
as far as what he does for this hockey club."
There were a number of Rangers fans in the building which felt very confident after Devils were forced to pull out Martin Brodeur in the final minutes to add the extra skater, giving them a reason to chant in favour of the blue shirts and against the struggling
New Jersey team.
"It's momentum off the way we play that dictates how our crowd is going to be in our building, because there are a lot of Rangers fans coming over," Brodeur said. "They are the ones, I guess, with the money and they are sitting right beside us, too.”
Dan Girardi got the momentum boosting goal 3:19 into round three with rookie player, Chris Kreider, continuing to shine with his fifth of the playoffs at 5:16 and captain, Ryan Callahan, insuring the game with less than three minutes left to play.
Game 4 will definitely be exciting as New Jersey Devils will definitely be looking to bounce back at home and level the series against New York Rangers on Monday, May 21, before heading back to the Madison Square Garden.
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