Paul Carey scores two goals, Henrik Lundqvist collects 11th straight home win as the New York Rangers triumph over the Anaheim Ducks.
- New York Rangers: 4 (19-12-3 41 points)
- Anaheim Ducks: 1 (14-13-8 36 points)
- NYR Goals: Paul Carey (3,4), Kevin Hayes (8), Michael Grabner (17)
- ANA Goals: Ondrej Kase (7)
- Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Rangers center Mika Zibanejad returned from a nine-game absence due to a concussion and slotted right back in with Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich. Zibanejad took the spot of Boo Nieves in the lineup. The starting goalies were Henrik Lundqvist and John Gibson.
Henrik Lundqvist was his usual dominant self, locking down a potent Ducks offense.
Nick Holden collected secondary assists on each of the first two goals, giving him is 100th and 101st points of his NHL career.
Paul Carey recorded his first career multi-goal game.
Both teams struggled to get sustained pressure early, with both Gibson and Lundqvist making impressive saves early. Lundqvist was once again able to keep the Rangers in it until the rest of the team woke up.
Today is the 100th birthday of the NHL, and this was the 59,000th NHL game played.
The @AnaheimDucks/@NYRangers game was the third contest to begin today, marking the 59,000th game in NHL history (regular-season and playoffs). #NHL100 pic.twitter.com/taUQ5pdTrB
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 20, 2017
The game started out as a back and forth contest, with neither team able to establish possession for very long. The Rangers got a couple of chances on the Ducks but goalie John Gibson stood strong in keeping the puck out of the net.
Rickard Rakell almost fooled Lundqvist on a shot in the middle of the first period, but the goalie was able to recover and keep it out. Lundqvist once again robbed Rakell, this time on a breakaway later in the period.
https://twitter.com/Hayes_Hair13/status/943276781066510336
The teams exchanged scoring chances as the period carried on, but both goalies played excellently.
The Rangers went on the power play with 5:35 left in the period after Andrew Cogliano broke Jimmy Vesey’s stick with a slash, but it was negated by a Mats Zuccarello roughing penalty 59 seconds later (which was in response to an earlier slash on Zuccarello).
The Ducks were able to apply some pressure at the end of their shortened powerplay but were unable to beat Lundqvist.
The Rangers finally broke through at the end of the first period with Paul Carey flipping a pass from David Desharnais over the blocker of Gibson to put the Rangers up 1-0. Nick Holden picked up an assist as well, giving him 100 points in the NHL.
The Paul Carey Goal #ANAvsNYR #nyr ? pic.twitter.com/OSFvuw7xRk
— BlueshirtsNation.com ? (@NYRangerFanclub) December 20, 2017
The Rangers continued their strong play at the beginning of the second period, with Kevin Hayes firing a pass from Zuccarello over the blocker of Gibson, with Nick Holden once again getting an assist.
Here is the Hayes goal! ? #nyr #ANAvsNYR pic.twitter.com/jozqRfY932
— BlueshirtsNation.com ? (@NYRangerFanclub) December 20, 2017
The Rangers continued their strong play early in the second period, applying constant pressure to the Ducks. J.T. Miller had a chance but was missed the net.
The period became more balanced as the second wore on, with the Ducks generating several chances, but failing to score on Lundqvist.
Paul Carey scored another goal in the second period off another assist from Desharnais, scoring from the slot once again, and sending the Rangers to the intermission with a 3-0 lead. Jimmy Vesey had the secondary assist on the goal.
Paul Carey scores again #nyr ?#ANAvsNYR pic.twitter.com/afepScKsh4
— BlueshirtsNation.com ? (@NYRangerFanclub) December 20, 2017
Carey almost returned the favor to Desharnais early in the third period but Josh Manson was able to break the pass up.
The Ducks came out aggressively in the third period, drawing a hooking penalty from Rick Nash early in the period. The Rangers killed the penalty with no real problem, and were able to generate some momentum as the period went on.
Zibanejad almost had an assist but the pass was bounding and Chris Kreider’s shot went over the net, as the “KZB line” picked up where they left off with their impressive passing.
Carey went had a shot at the hat trick halfway through the third but got robbed by Gibson with an amazing glove save.
The Rangers did a great job of applying pressure through the middle of the second period, keeping the desperate Ducks on their heels and in their zone.
Ondrej Kase beat Lundqvist with a wrist shot late in the third to cut the lead to 3-1. Ryan Getzlaf and Josh Manson had the assists.
Michael Grabner was able to work the puck into the back of the net off the rebound and extended the lead to 4-1.
https://twitter.com/Hayes_Hair13/status/943307283399921664
The Rangers were able to hold off the Ducks as the game ended, although they couldn’t get Carey his first hat trick.
