Rangers defeat Devils 3-2, youth is served at The Rock
The Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils tonight 3-2 at the Prudential Center in Newark tonight in a game that had all the drama and intensity we've come to expect in this rivalry. Players from both sides have made names for themselves in this 25 year battle, and tonight you can add two new ones to the list: Del Zotto and Gilroy.
Michael Del Zotto continued to impress offensively by scoring his second goal in two nights tonight, and added an assist on Ales Kotalik's power play goal late in the 1st period. The Rangers much talked-about power play finally got the bounces tonight, they were 2 for 6 with the man advantage.
Del Zotto and Gilroy became the first two Ranger rookie defensemen to score in the same game since Jeff Bloemberg and Miroslav Horava did it in 1990.
The game got off to a rough start for the Rangers, when Rob Niedermayer scored just 1:10 into the game. The Rangers lackluster start forced an enraged Head Coach John Tortorella to call a timeout, which he spent screaming at his team to get their heads in the game.
After killing off a Michal Rozsival penalty following the timeout, the Rangers got the message and settled into their game, with Del Zotto tying it a few minutes later. Travis Zajac put the Devils back ahead at the 10:52 mark, but Kotalik's goal sent the teams to the first intermission tied at one.
Henrik Lundqvist started off slowly, but found his game and by night's end had made 25 saves. Martin Brodeur was off his game for the second straight game, giving up three goals on 26 shots.
Banter star of the game:
