12/24/14

Rangers' Win Streak Extends to Seven

The New York Rangers put their six-game win streak on the line, as they faced the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden last night. Henrik Lundqvist got the start for the blue shirts and Braden Holtby was in net for the Caps. The Rangers drew first blood when forward Rick Nash scored at 3:32 of the first period. At 17:47, Capitals' defenseman Brooks Orpik was assessed a two-minute cross checking penalty to put the Rangers on the power play. The Rangers were unable to capitalize. After one period of play, the Rangers held a 1-0 lead. Just 27 seconds into the second period, Capitals' captain Alex Ovechkin was called for a boarding penalty. The Rangers capitalized on this advantage when Martin St. Louis scored at 1:08 to expand the Rangers lead to 2-0. The score remained the same through the rest of the period and the Rangers looked to keep their lead heading into the locker room. Rick Nash pushed the Rangers' lead to 3-0 with his second goal of the game at 5:12 of the third period. The Capitals responded when Evgeny Kuznetsov scored at 5:53 to cut the Rangers' lead to 3-1. At 9:29, Rangers' defenseman Matt Hunwick was assessed a two-minute hooking penalty. The Capitals took advantage, as Alex Ovechkin scored at 10:58 to cut the Rangers' lead to 3-2. At 14:35, Capitals' forward Nicklas Backstrom was assessed a four-minute high sticking penalty and another penalty was assessed for a face off violation. The Rangers capitalized on the power play when Martin St. Louis scored his second goal of the game at 16:12 to increase the Rangers' lead to 4-2. The score held true and the Rangers won the game 4-2 to extend their winning streak to seven games.