Now it’s hockey season. The side issues — the Rick Nash quest, the trade deadline — all settled.
Now all they do is play for keeps. That’s how the Rangers played last night, no more gnashing of teeth about Nash, all set for the final run.
“It’s crunch time,” Brian Boyle said after the Rangers’ 2-0 victory over the Devils last night at Madison Square Garden. “It’s a good feeling knowing everybody’s still here, nobody had to leave.”
Then he said what a first-place Rangers team always believes.
“This is the place to be,” Boyle said.
The Rangers victory was about as heavy a trouncing as an empty-net, 2-0 verdict gets. It was a direct answer to the Devils’ 1-0 triumph at the Garden three weeks ago.
That was Martin Brodeur’s first shutout this season. This was Henrik Lundqvist’s eighth.
Afterward, Brodeur conceded the goaltending crown to The King.
“For me, it’s a nice matchup to play against the top goalie in the league,” said the NHL’s record holder for games, victories and shutouts.
“He’s a guy who’s put on a pedestal for a reason.”
It was Lundqvist’s fourth shutout in 12 games, and 12th straight game of allowing two goals or less.
The Rangers snapped the Devils’ seven-game road winning streak, tied for the longest in the league this season. The Rangers put 12 points between themselves and the Devils, who had lost three straight and five of nine (4-4-1) since that Brodeur shutout Feb. 7.
“Make a mistake, it’s going to cost you the game,” Brodeur said. “You have to be almost perfect to play these types of games. It’s the same as in the playoffs.”
Despite the slide, and the likelihood the Atlantic title is now beyond his team’s reach, Devils coach Pete DeBoer did not sound angry.
“I was happy with how we played,” DeBoer said. “I liked our game tonight.”
The Rangers grabbed an early lead and Lundqvist made it stand up the rest of the night. Brodeur, playing consecutive days for the first time this season, battled the puck early, dropping a popup straight to Carl Hagelin, who missed that gift.
But Hagelin didn’t miss Ryan Callahan’s pass from behind the net late in the first period. At the left side, Hagelin caught Brodeur off the post and chipped in his 11th goal of the season at 16:59.
Brodeur kept the Rangers from extending their lead, particularly with a stick on Marian Gaborik’s one-timer from the right circle 10:30 into the third.
But with Brodeur on the bench for an extra skater, Hagelin burst past Marek Zidlicky to give Ryan Callahan the empty-netter with 1:06 left.