Music: {allcanada} Rangers top Maple Leafs in shootout

Monday, December 23, 2013

{allcanada} Rangers top Maple Leafs in shootout

NEW YORK -- Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored in the shootout to give the New York Rangers a 2-1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

Zuccarello scored in the first round of the tiebreaker and Stepan in the second for the Rangers. Toronto's Joffrey Lupul extended the game by beating Cam Talbot, but after Rick Nash shot wide in the third round, Talbot ended the game by stopping Nazem Kadri's wrister.

Kadri gave the Maple Leafs (18-16-5) a point when he scored with 1:24 remaining in regulation and Jonathan Bernier made 42 saves through 65 minutes. J.T. Miller opened the scoring 7:04 into the third period and Talbot stopped 25 of 26 shots for New York (18-18-2), which closed out their franchise record nine-game homestand with a 3-4-2 record.

Toronto was outplayed for most of the night but forced overtime when Kadri poked a loose puck into the net. David Clarkson took the puck hard to the net and whacked away while it was wedged in Talbot's left pad. The play was never called dead, and Kadri poked the puck into the net to tie the game. A video review confirmed the goal, Kadri's 11th of the season.

The goal came 10 seconds after the Rangers' Chris Kreider took a delay of game penalty for clearing the puck out of play with 3:34 remaining.

Before Kadri's goal, the Rangers appeared on their way to winning in regulation for the second time in as many nights.

Kreider set up the game's first goal by using his body to maintain puck possession behind the Toronto net before finding Miller as he was streaking into the slot after coming off the bench. Miller beat Bernier to the blocker side for his second of the season.

The goal came just over two minutes after Toronto's Nikolai Kulemin almost broke the scoreless tie. Talbot got a piece of Clarkson's centering feed from behind the net, but Kulemin managed to get off a shot from in close that bounced off the inside of the far post and slid along the goal line. A video review confirmed that the puck didn't cross the goal line.

After a first period in which both teams had chances on the rush, the Rangers completely dominated the second period. They outshot the Maple Leafs 22-5 and earned four power plays but couldn't get anything past Bernier.

Ryan McDonagh's hard wrist shot from the left point ricocheted off the right post 5:31 into the period, and Miller had a prime chance from the slot 23 seconds later after taking Benoit Pouliot's pass from the half-wall but was stopped by Bernier.

Toronto killed off Peter Holland's hooking penalty with 8:51 remaining in the period and former Ranger Colton Orr's holding penalty with 5:09 left was negated when Nash was whistled for goalie interference with 3:33 left. The Rangers also failed to capitalize on 14 seconds of 5-on-3 play at the end of the period following a boarding call on Lupul and a bench minor for too many men.

Merry Christmas II You - Mariah Carey