The New York Rangers finally get their first win of the season, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 at Madison Square Garden.
- New York Rangers 2 (1-2-0, 2 PTS)
- Montreal Canadiens 0 (1-2-0, 2 PTS)
- NHL. Final, Box Score
- Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Henrik Lundqvist saved all 34 shots that the Montreal Canadiens fired his way—and was the recipient of some help from the hockey gods—as the Rangers picked up their first win of the 2017-18 season.
At 6:24 of the first period, Montreal’s David Shaw appeared to score a goal to give the Canadiens an early 1-0 lead. Lundqvist immediately protested and the goal was ultimately overturned on replay as it was determined that the puck was intentionally kicked by Shaw, then bounced off Lundqvist and into the net.
Then at 8:59 of the first period, the second blessing of the hockey gods came when a blast from Shea Weber bounced off Lundqvist, hit Max Pacioretty in front of the net and wound up behind Hank. After the video review, it was ruled that Pacioretty interfered with Lundqvist prior to goal going into the net and the goal was waved off.
Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei then put the Rangers on the board with his first of the year at 17:25 of the first period, His shot deflected off of Weber and past Carey Price for a 1-0 Rangers lead.
?@BradySkjei gets the scoring started for #NYR! ? pic.twitter.com/zfsTwMfN4j
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 9, 2017
The second period consisted of heavy pressure from the Canadiens, but they could not get anything past Lundqvist.
In the third period, Mika Zibanejad scored his fourth of the season at 9:13 to give the Rangers the 2-0 lead. He’s now tied for fourth in the NHL in goals scored.
The slot is overrated for @MikaZibanejad. He's scoring wherever he feels like. #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/XY7JjYs2AT
— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2017
Lundqvist not only picked up his first win of the season but his 62nd career shutout, which puts him 16th all-time in the NHL record books.
The Rangers won an impressive 57 percent of the faceoffs tonight as their centers certainly did their jobs. The team went 0-for-3 on the power play. Next up, a Tuesday showdown with the St. Louis Blues at MSG. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. ET.
