Connor Carrick scored with 4:10 left in the third period Monday night for the host New Jersey Devils, who outlasted the New York Rangers 4-2 in Newark, N.J.
The deciding goal was set up by an impressive individual effort by Drew Stafford, who briefly lost control of the puck in the neutral zone but got it back by reaching back and stealing it from Rangers center Vladislav Namestnikov. Stafford then raced up the ice and deked as if he was going to shoot before passing into the slot to Carrick, who fired a shot into the far end of the net.
The goal was the second of the season for Carrick but his first for the Devils, who acquired him from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Ben Lovejoy on Feb. 23.
Joey Anderson iced the victory with an empty-netter with 1:09 left for the Devils (30-40-10), who received first-period goals from Miles Wood and Travis Zajac in winning their home finale. New Jersey finished 20-14-7 at home.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made 30 saves.
Brett Howden scored in the first period and Filip Chytil added the game-tying goal in the second period for the Rangers (31-35-13), who were trying to win three straight games for the first time since Jan. 15-19. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist recorded 37 saves.
The Devils struck first on a breakaway goal by Wood, who capped an end-to-end rush by beating Lundqvist just 3:54 into the game. Zajac doubled the lead at the 14:34 mark, when he redirected a slap shot by Damon Severson for a power play goal with 5:26 left,
The Rangers cut the gap in half with 1:20 left in the period, when Howden closed out a three-on-one rush by firing a shot that sailed under the stick of Carrack and beyond the reach of Blackwood.
The Rangers tied the score on a power play goal early in the second period, when Blackwood initially turned back a shot by Vinni Lettieri but was sprawled out and in no position to answer the rebound by Chytil, who buried his shot into the open right corner of the net.
--Field Level Media
NY Rangers | New Jersey | |
Filip Chytil 1 | Points | Connor Carrick 2 |
Filip Chytil 1 | Goals | Connor Carrick 1 |
Connor Brickley 1 | Assists | Connor Carrick 1 |
Filip Chytil 1 | Power Play Goals | Travis Zajac 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Henrik Lundqvist .925 | Save Percentage | Mackenzie Blackwood .938 |
Henrik Lundqvist 37 | Saves | Mackenzie Blackwood 30 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Rangers | 32 | 2 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 25 | 19 |
New Jersey | 41 | 4 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 21 | 38 |