New Jersey Beats the Rangers, Series now 3-2

After last night’s NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers, it’s somewhat amazing that the final score ended up being 5-3. The Devils came out of their gate fighting, and had two goals on New York before the first five minutes had even played out. The Rangers, known for being a team that plays best when they’re ahead, were in a tough spot indeed, and even though they came back and made a lot of great plays, it just wasn’t enough.

The Rangers came back with a vengeance and managed to get a goal of their own before the end of the first period, and in the second Ryan Callahan made it a one-goal game by putting his own puck in the net behind Devils’ goaltender Marty Brodeur. In the third period, the Rangers had it all tied up at three, and it looked like a game that might go into OT.

But the Devils suddenly remembered the gusto they flew out of the gate with, and Ryan Carter shot one past Henrik Lundqvist, a goalie that no one has seemed able to beat this season. Carter’s goal gave the Devils the lead again, although only by one goal. When the Rangers pulled Lundqvist from the net with just seconds left to go in the game, it was over and the Rangers knew that they were headed back to New Jersey for Game 6.

But this doesn’t mean that it’s over for the Rangers. In fact, they seem to do best when they’re pushed to a Game 7, and that’s what will happen if they want to win the series. During their series against Ottawa, the Rangers won it at home in Game 7, and they did the same in the second round when they faced Washington, another Game 7 at home for the Rangers that they won.

It won’t be easy for the Rangers, but as their coach John Tortorella said, he knows that they’ve “been here before.” They’ll have a chance to prove that they can pull it out one more time on Friday when they play in Newark in what is now an elimination game.

Categorized in: NHL