Associated Press
David Clarkson and Ryan Carter scored 1:54 apart early in the third period, and New Jersey's slumbering offense broke out in a 4-1 victory over the NHL-leading Rangers on Tuesday night.
Clarkson tipped Petr Sykora's hard drive past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist at 2:27 to give the Devils their second lead of the game, and Carter pushed New Jersey ahead by two at 4:21.
Carter also fought Brandon Dubinsky in the first period, a bout that knocked the Rangers forward out of the game with a hand injury. Ilya Kovalchuk also had a goal, and Patrik Elias made it 4-1 by scoring into an empty net with 1:53 left.
Sykora nearly had the winning goal after being honored before the game for playing in his 1,000th NHL contest, but settled for the primary assist. Martin Brodeur made 25 saves.
Derek Stepan scored the Rangers' lone goal, and Lundqvist made 25 saves for the Rangers (42-16-7), who have a big lead in the Eastern Conference and had just moved to the top of the NHL standings on Sunday. The Rangers are 2-2-1 against the Devils this season, with one game left in the series.
Stepan got the Rangers even at 1-1 early in the second when they controlled play. Already dominating on the shot board, New York managed to get a puck past Brodeur.
Right after Lundqvist was bowled over in the crease at the other end, the Rangers got the puck up ice. Carl Hagelin worked the puck free behind the Devils net and sent a pass into the high slot to a wide-open Stepan, who smacked the rolling puck into the top left corner -- just under the crossbar -- to tie it at 6:56.
• COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY
|
STATS OF THE GAME
Derek Stepan extended his point streak to four games (two goals, three assists over the span), tied for the team-high with four shots on goal and led all team forwards with 21:30 of ice time. He has now tallied 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in the last 16 games, and has registered a goal in each of the last two games.
|
|
|
| (selected by newyorkrangers.com) |
|
|
|
| 1. Hagelin |
2. Stepan |
3. McDonagh |
|
[51-24-7]
[48-28-6]