Rangers Vs. Blackhawks Recap: Miller, Duclair Impress In 4-1 Win Over Hawks
The Rangers picked up their first win of the preseason this evening as they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1.
After dropping their opening game against the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers finally got on the board tonight with a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Henrik Lundqvist played the first half of the game, and allowed the only goal of the game on a mad scramble in front of the crease. Then it was Cedrick Desjardins who finished out the rest of the game, and posted the semi-shutout.
The Rangers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Oscar Lindberg chipped in the games first goal just 50 seconds in. Lee Stempniak picked up the primary assist on the goal as he gave a nifty little tap pass over to Lindberg who was set up in the slot. Lindberg finished it off with a blast that found its way through the legs of Corey Crawford, and into the back of the net.
A little over ten minutes later, the Rangers doubled their lead with a goal coming from Anthony Duclair, which was his first goal scored at the professional level. In case you missed the game, or can't find the replay, Evan went ahead and posted up the goal in GIF form. Simply put, this goal was just amazing. Derick Brassard started it all off with a tremendous outlet pass to Rick Nash along the boards, and Nash finished it off with a sweet saucer pass over to Duclair on the far post for the slam dunk.
Duclair didn't stop there though, and wound up picking up the secondary assist on J.T. Miller's power play goal late in the third period. Duclair was also very impressive in his own end, and made a few fantastic defensive plays to break up potential scoring opportunities. Many people expected Duclair to get a long, hard look during camp, and thus far, he has given the Rangers brass a difficult decision to make.
Marek Hrivik capped off the scoring with less than four minutes remaining in the game after a broken play in front, that somehow flipped over Crawford's back. Overall, it was a solid showing for some of the young guys tonight, and it will make for an interesting few days as we come down to the next roster cuts.
The Rangers will be back in action next week with a home and home against the Philadelphia Flyers, which kicks off Monday night at Madison Square Garden.