The New York Rangers reclaimed home-ice advantage on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 Game 3 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. The Rangers started slow but the Devils could not capitalize on a slew of scoring chances early. Henrik Lundqvist was amazing yet again, and the Rangers killed off five penalties to seal the shutout win.
Devils Vs. Rangers, 2012 NHL Playoffs Game 3: Henrik Lundqvist Leads New York To Shutout Win
Dan Girardi finally broke the scoreless tie with a power play goal for the Rangers. The score was set up by the face-off win of Brad Richards and the puck went right out to Girardi near the blue line. The Rangers' defenseman drifted to his right and rocketed a shot back across the stick side of Martin Brodeur for the first goal of the game.
The Rangers then took a 2-0 lead when rookie Chris Kreider scored his fifth goal of the playoffs off a deflection in front of Brodeur. Stationed at the blue line, Ryan McDonagh stepped in and took a bounce off the boards and threw it to the front of the net. Kreider came dashing across the front of Brodeur, who had no chance to stop it off the re-direct. Ryan Callahan added a late empty-netter to remove all doubt.
Lundqvist finished the game 36 saves for his second shutout of the series. He certainly kept his team in it during a rocky start and put them ahead 2-1 in the series. Game 4 is set for Monday night in Newark.
SB Nation New York will have coverage from both sides throughout the Eastern Conference Finals. For all news and information regarding the New York Rangers, please visit Blueshirt Banter. For updates and perspective on the New Jersey Devils, head on over to In Lou We Trust. For complete coverage of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, stay tuned to SB Nation’s dedicated NHL hub.
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