Music: {allcanada} St. Louis finally scores as Rangers top Canucks

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

{allcanada} St. Louis finally scores as Rangers top Canucks

PRISM (Deluxe Version) - Katy Perry / ARTPOP - Lady Gaga

ANCOUVER -- Playing in his 15th game with his new team, Martin St. Louis finally scored for the New York Rangers.

St. Louis scored his first goal since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning on a shorthanded 2-on-1 pass from Rick Nash midway through the third period, and the Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night.

With the Canucks pressing for the tie on a second straight power play, defenseman Yannick Weber's dove to keep a puck in at the blue line and came up short. Nash, who scored shorthanded against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, broke into the Vancouver end before passing it across to St. Louis for a quick shot over Eddie Lack's glove.

It was the third shorthanded goal in two games for the Rangers and their seventh in the past 15, three more than they have managed to score on the power play in the same span. New York is in a three-way tie for second in the NHL with 10 shorthanded goals.

Daniel Carcillo and Benoit Pouliot scored in the first period and Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves for the Rangers, who have won seven of the past eight games to increase their lead for second place in the Metropolitan Division to three points over the Philadelphia Flyers.

New York also set a franchise record with their 25th road win. With five games left, the Rangers have an eight-point lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final Eastern Conference berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It wasn't all positive for the Rangers, who watched top defenseman Ryan McDonagh go straight to the locker room appearing to favor his left shoulder with 43.8 seconds left after a high hit from Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows. Burrows was assessed a five minute major penalty for elbowing and a game misconduct.

Ryan Kesler scored and Lack made 28 saves in his 17th straight start for the Canucks, who fell six points behind the Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

It was the second regular-season game between the teams since swapping coaches last summer, and the Alain Vigneault-led Rangers won each game against former coach John Tortorella and the Canucks.

Carcillo, who was dropped from the first to the fourth line, opened the scoring after Lack failed to control a dump in off the end boards 4:59 into the first period. The puck bounced right through the crease, setting off a scramble that ended with Brian Boyle knocking the puck out from under Lack's glove to a wide-open Carcillo on other side.

Lundqvist, who made a couple of good saves on Kesler in the first three minutes, kept the Rangers ahead by staying patient to get his left arm on Chris Higgins partial breakaway shot midway through the period, and Pouliot made it 2-0 on a power play with 5:17 left.

Lack made a good blocker save on Mats Zuccarello's shot from alone in the slot, and followed the rebound to his right. But the puck went straight to Derick Brassard, who quickly passed it back across the crease to an open Pouliot for a one-timer into an empty net.

Kesler finally beat Lundqvist 6:21 into the second period. After winning an offensive zone, Kesler fought off a check from Dominic Moore and one-timed a cross-ice pass from Daniel Sedin between the legs of Lundqvist as he slid left to right across his crease.

Each goaltender survived scrambles late in the second period, with Lack robbing Pouliot twice in front and Lundqvist getting his left pad on a tough deflection, then diving to poke away the rebound.

Grey's Anatomy / The Big Bang Theory