New York Rangers shutout Stanley Cup Finalists Vancouver Canucks 4-0 -NHL Match Update
New York proved on Tuesday night, October 18, 2011, to Vancouver that it is a whole different ball game now since they last met before the National Hockey League (NHL) Playoffs, as the Rangers shutout the Canucks, 4-0, at a sold-out Rogers Arena in Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada.
Before the matchup, Vancouver paid tribute to Rick Rypien, the former enforcer for the Canucks who died over the offseason before he was to start newly with the Winnipeg Jets.
On the other hand, Henrik Lundqvist, New York’s main goaltender blocked all 40 shots that were fired on him by the Vancouver line-up, outplaying his counterpart in the Canucks net, veteran goalie Roberto Luongo, who faced only 19 shots but fell short on
four.
"It was intense", said Lundqvist, who blanked the Canucks 1-0 in New York on Jan. 12 in the teams' last meeting. "I felt like I tracked the puck very well. It's been tough not getting any wins in the first couple of games -- we've been close. I kind of took
that as motivation going into this game".
The first 40 minutes of regulation game-play were filled with opportunities for Vancouver Canucks, who continued to shoot at Lundqvist, but could not seem to crack his defence. Rangers also gave five power play opportunities to the home team throughout that
time frame, compared to the two they were given, but Vancouver failed to capitalise on any single one.
Vancouver’s captain, Henrik Sedin, could not resist giving credit to Lundqvist for his brilliant performance.
"He played great", said Sedin, who has played with Lundqvist for Team Sweden. "We know what kind of a goaltender he is. He made a lot of key saves. After two periods, we should have been up by one or two goals, but we weren't. That falls on us".
New York let loose in the third period and scored four straight goals as Mike Rupp, Ryan McDonagh, Brian Boyle and Marian Gaborik fired the puck through Luongo, silencing a rowdy Vancouver crowd.
Having won their second straight, the Rangers hope to continue it against Calgary Flames on Thursday, while Vancouver Canucks host Nashville Predators.
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