MSG's Stan Fischler labels a 3-0 lead in a hockey game the most dangerous one, because it can easily be broken. Yesterday, the Devils experienced just that as they chased Henrik Lundqvist to the bench after a 3-0 lead, but still the final score was 3-2 with a last second post hit by the Rangers. In fact, the Rangers out shot the Devils 27-18 in the game and 15-2 in the 3rd period. Lundqvist made 9 saves on 12 shots, while Biron stopped all the 6 he saw. The score could have been 4-3 Rangers if those two post hits were actually goals, because Brandon Dubinsky had a wide open net late in the 1st period, but ended up hitting the cross-bar.
Ilya Kovalchuk, Dainius Zubrus and Brian Rolston scored for the Devils, while Ryan Callahan and Vinny Prospal for the Rangers. Brian Rolston continues his somewhat resurgence for the Devils, so it will be interesting if other NHL scouts and teams could show interest in him by the deadline assuming the Devils will be in seller mode. This was the Devils first victory over the Rangers this season and they are now 2-5 over the New York area teams. However, Lundqvist still manages to own Brodeur in their career head-to-head affairs.
The Devils play host to the Florida Panthers tonight and will visit the Montreal Canadiens on Super Bowl Sunday at a 3 o'clock matinee. This years NHL trade deadline is on Monday, February 28th, which is a strange date, because usually it is a Tuesday or Wednesday. We might see a busy Sunday and Monday.
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