1-0 Rangers
While a win in Game 1 of a series seldom dictate the final result, there’s not many things better than going into New Jersey and coming away with a win in Newark to start the playoffs . The Rangers’ ability to draw first blood/a> does however cancel out the home ice advantage earned by the Devils less than a week ago and give them a 1-0 series lead and the all important momentum.
Three unanswered goals in the third period blew open what was a tight game between the two teams. Ryan Callahan scored the Rangers’ first post season shorthanded goal since 1997, Sean Avery added some insurance and Nigel Dawes received a gift open net from Brendan Shanahan.
Game 1 A Poor Predictor
There’s no doubt last night’s win over the Devils was important for the Rangers. It put to bed any suggestion that the Devils might have regained the momentum with their shootout win in the season finale, and it quickly erased memories of the last time these two teams met in the playoffs.
Martin Brodeur’s failure to cover the puck also perhaps is the type of play that can get into the heads of the Devils, and maybe turn a series to their opponents. But the final score aside, this was a much closer game than it appeared. The Devils hit four posts/crossbars, and easily could have had the lead in the first or second periods. They came out hard in the third, and had the first nine shots on goal before Ryan Callahan‘s goal.