Rangers ride Nash and Lundqvist to Western Canada sweep (NYR 5 v. CGY 2)
Henrik Lundqvist is heating up, Rick Nash is playing All-Star hockey and the Rangers are humming on the road. All of this has added up to a sweep of Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. NY’s win streak is now at 4 games and the Rangers are back in the playoff picture.
RANGERS 5 v. FLAMESÂ 2
The Rangers went on the road knowing that this trip had to be special. Marc Staal stated in Vancouver that the team was “fully aware” of where they were in the standings. He and his teammates all knew it was time to get on a roll. Last night, the Rangers did just that and have won their 4th straight.
Rick Nash opened the scoring with a beautiful breakaway goal. It was his first of two and had his teammates raving about him. “Rick Nash is an elite hockey player,” said Derek Stepan, who had a goal and an assist. “He’s playing so well on both sides of the puck. That’s what makes his scoring so impressive,” explained Chris Kreider, who was the recipient of a gift goal in the first period.
Alain Vigneualt also bestowed high praise for his winger. “We need him to play the way he is. You need your top players to be your top performers and that’s what Rick is doing for us right now,” he said in his postgame presser. Twenty goals on the year in only the 29th game of the season is goal scoring the Rangers haven’t seen since Jaromir Jagr.
Rick Nash is scoring at a rate of .68 goals per game and could finish with 57 goals. Jagr potted 54 to break Adam Graves‘ 52 in the 2005-06 season. However, Nash is not just scoring goals, he’s making plays and doing it in all situations. His 20th of the year came shorthanded and has given the Rangers PK a whole new dimension this year.
Henrik Lundqvist is also getting it done. This is now his 4th straight win, his GAA is 1.50 and his SV% a sparkling .946! Those are the type of numbers Rangers fans have become spoiled with, but it’s also the numbers the King is used to posting.
NY will now try and make it a perfect road trip as they head into Carolina on Saturday.
NOTES:Â
That was the 20th time #NYR played VAN, EDM & CGY on same trip and first time they swept all 3!
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 17, 2014
#NYR Stats: The Rangers have registered a goal with the man advantage in 11 of its last 19 games (12-for-62; 19.4% over the span).
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 17, 2014
Rick Nash has a point in 14 of the Rangers’ 15 wins this season, and recorded the game-deciding goal in the shootout in the other win. #NYR
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 17, 2014
In his last 20 games, @HLundqvist30 has posted a 12-5-3 record, along with a 2.11 GAA, a .925 SV%, and 5 SO. #NYR
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 17, 2014
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