NHL Review: Rangers Win Again While Blues Dig Deep

Rangers win ninth game in a row

Thanks to 31 saves from Henrik Lundqvist in his second shutout of the season, the Rangers managed to beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night for their ninth straight win at home.

Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, and Kevin Hayes scored for the Rangers, who have now won nine out of their last ten games and are currently at 16-3-2. Moreover, their 34 points tie them with Dallas and Montreal for most in the NHL.

This was Lundqvist’s 57^th shutout in a regular season and his second against the Predators.

Pekka Rinne, on the other hand, made 19 saves for the Nashville Predators who fell to 11-6-2 with their third straight shutout loss.

The Predators have failed to score in what is a franchise-record 213 minutes and 47 seconds since Miikka Salmomaki’s goal in a 3-2 win over Anaheim last Saturday.

Capitals best Oilers by a solitary goal

Dmitry Orlov scored with just under seven minutes left in the third period as the Washington Capitals went on to beat the Edmonton Oilers 1-0.

Braden Holtby made 33 saves during the game and played a crucial role in his team’s second consecutive game. Tom Wilson started the game-deciding play by coming up with a puck in the right corner and quickly sending it across the ice to Orlov, who was never going to miss out on such a glorious opportunity, and slapped a ripper of a shot past goalie Anders Nilsson.

After starting the game rather slowly, Washington increased the pressure in the third minute and had to thank their shot-stopper for making a number of crucial saves to make sure his team stayed in the game.

Nilsson, on the other hand, had 29 saves to his name in what should be considered a very strong performance. Last Friday, he made 19 saves as the Oilers thrashed the Devils 5-1 away from home. This time around however, his exploits were not complemented by his offensive teammates.

Neither team was able to create any solid offensive play in the first two periods, and it was the third period when the game really came to life.

Blues 2, Sabres 1

Troy Brouwer and Robby Fabri scored in the third period as Saint Louis clawed their way back to win in Buffalo. Jake Allen made 24 saves as the Blues registered a second consecutive win over Buffalo.

David Legwand had given his team the lead early on, but a late comeback ensured that the Sabres remain winless in their last five outings.

Legwand took advantage by snaring a loose puck from behind the net and sliding it across the goal line at 16:45 of the second period. Buffalo could have had even more goals had they been clinical enough. Brian Gionta was unlucky when his shot rattled off the crossbar.

Brouwer found the rebound off a Kevin Sattenkirk point short and backhanded it past Linus Ullmark, who saw the puck too late to prevent it from going beyond him.