(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Wednesday night’s Rangers – Red Wings game at Madison Square Garden was also Hockey Fights Cancer Night in the NHL. Players on both sides wore violet colored chinstraps and other accessories, as fans in the stands held up placards showing who they were fighting cancer for. And in a very touching pre-game ceremonial puck drop, 12 year old Thomas Gentile, in memory of his brother Vincent who lost his fight to cancer at age 15, was chosen to do so. He stood on the red carpet between Red Wing Captain Henrik Zetterberg and Ranger alternate Captain Marty St. Louis and dropped the puck. Both players, who are total professionals and gentlemen, graciously shook Thomas’ hand and Marty gave him the puck that he would cherish his entire life.
The Rangers were coming off two straight shootout losses and the Red Wings had played the night before in Ottawa and lost. But this game started out quickly and the Rangers put on a ton of pressure. So much in fact, that Detroit did not get a shot on goal until over a quarter of the period had expired.
The Ranger pressure led to a shot from the point by Derick Brassard, who had received a pass from Matt Hunwick to start the rush, which was on net but hit a stick and then caught the rear end of Rick Nash, who was just too big in front to move out of the way. The puck hit Nash in the wallet and deflected past Red Wing netminder Jonas Gustavsson for the big power forward’s 10 goal of the early season.
The score remained that way until the second, when the new defensemen of the Rangers passed the puck up the ice. Michael Kostka found Matt Hunwick with the puck and then Hunwick unleashed a no look outlet pass up ice that caught Marty St. Louis. Marty took it in stride, rushed in on Gustavsson and beat him through the “five hole” (which is between the pads).
The Rangers were flying, until a Power Play by the Red Wings turned the game around. Jakub Kindl was able to beat Henrik Lundqvist cleanly from out in front and Detroit was on the board. Then in a very bizarre moment, a puck shot by Daniel Cleary seemed to enter the net, but neither the ref nor the scorekeeper acknowledged the fact. Play continued for over a minute but when there was a break in the action, the refs huddled and turned to the “War Room” in Toronto, who declared the puck had entered the net and the score was tied at 2-2.
The third period was hectic to say the least, as both teams put on a tremendous amount of pressure, but both goalies stood firm. Until Lee Stempniak took a feed from Dominic Moore and broke in on net and rifled one past the Detroit netminder to take the lead. The Red Wings kept up the pressure, but the Rangers were holding them off until a controversial penalty was called late in the 3rd.
One of the Red Wings was called for tripping, as he took out the legs of Marty St. Louis from behind with his legs. From my vantage point from the Chase Bridge at MSG, where the jumbotron was right in front of me, it looked like a clear penalty against Detroit and a power play for the Rangers. But, the refs called a second penalty for embellishment. Now this is where it get very confusing, because the refs first called the penalty on Marc Staal, and he was placed in the penalty box. Then after a consultation, the refs then took Staal out and placed Marty St. Louis in the box. That was even more ludicrous, since St. Louis just had his legs taken out from under him and he could not have done anything else. But in the eyes of the refs, he embellished.
The Red Wings then pulled Gustavsson and added an extra skater. The pressure was raised a few notches more. Then with less than a minute left, the refs called a hooking penalty on Marc Staal and now the rangers found themselves down two. This call was borderline at best, but it was called and with the two man advantage, the Red Wings were able to score the game tying goal, as Tomas Tatar took a pass and scored from the side of Lundqvist’s net.
The Zambonis came out to give the ice a dry scrape and OT began. Maybe it was karma rearing the equalizer, but Pavel Datsyuk was called and sent to the penalty box. Marty St. Louis feed Dan Girardi and the defenseman skated to the point and let fly with a shot that hit Gustavsson, but before he could corral the puck, Derick Brassard pounced on it and flipped it into the net for the OT game winner.
Goalie Stats:
Jonas Gustavsson stopped 26 out of 30 shots on goal for a SV% of .867
Henrik Lundqvist on the other hand, made 25 saves on 28 shots for a SV% of .893
3 Stars of the Game:
3rd Star: Derick Brassard, 1 goal, 1 assist for 2 points and 5 shots on goal
2nd Star: Matt Hunwick, 2 assists for 2 points
1st Star: Rick Nash, 1 goal for I point and 6 shots on goal
Team Stats:
NYR DRW
Power Play 2 for 3 2 for 5
Hits 16 19
Face Off Wins 29 28
Giveaways 8 12
Takeaways 7 4
Blocked shots 17 13
Roster Move: The NY Rangers sent C Chris Mueller back down to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. He had 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games with the Rangers. Both of his two points took place in one game vs the NY Devils, played on October 21st at the Prudential Center.
Game Notes:
Rick Nash continues his hot streak, as he now has scored 10 goals in the first 12 games of the season.
Derick Brassard scored the game winning goal and now has 5 on the season.
Henrik Lundqvist, with the game against the Red Wings, has now passed Lorne “Gump” Worsley, and into second place as the all-time appearance leader in NY Ranger history. Lundqvist now only has Mike Richter ahead of him.
Up Coming Games:
Detroit is now at 6-3-4 and will face the New Jersey Devils in Detroit on Friday November 7th.
The New York Rangers, at 6-4-2 will be on the road in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday November 8th.
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