The Rangers have extended their winning streak to 5-0, tying the mark for the franchise’s best ever start to the season, set back in 1983 when they also went 5-0 (and started 9-1-0 in their first 10). Perhaps it was just a little sweeter too that it came at the expense of the Devils, whom were handed their first loss of the season.
At least Martin Brodeur was happy about one thing…no Sean Avery, though do you think he likes having Adam Voros’ butt parked in front of him? Voros scored two power play goals on deflections while standing in front of Brodeur.
And while there’s been plenty of talk about Brodeur passing Patrick Roy (wins) and Terry Sawchuk (shutouts) for two of NHL’s premiere goaltending records, it was his opponent Henrik Lundqvist who continued his dominance in the head to head record and drew praise for his perfect start to the season.
The game finished 4-1 in favor of the Rangers, and featured plenty of hard checking. Captains Chris Drury and Jamie Langenbrunner, did take some halfhearted swings at each other late in the game, but no damage was done as neither player dropped the gloves.
More news continues to come out about the death of Rangers prospect and former first round draft pick, Alexei Cherepanov, while he was playing for Avangard Omsk yesterday. Reports suggest that the ambulance attending the game, had left for the completion of regulation, and that the rink’s defibrillator was not operational.
Some in Russia are already suggesting negligence, but it will likely be some time before we get the true story from a country renown for it’s inaccurate media.
While none of the current Rangers were particularly familiar with the 19 year old Russian, the news was still schocking to both them and their opponents.
Both teams and the MSG crowd observed a moment of silence in honor of Cherepanov, though the Rangers are still evaluating the best way to further honor his memory.
For more on the story, check out this article in English from one of the Russian sites.
CAR
PIT
CBJ