Copyright Getty Images/by Seth Wenig

At the end of the day, chalk it up as another step in the right direction. The Rangers came out and stomped on the Devils before skating to a 4-1 win at MSG. Ryan Callahan set the tone by scoring 34 seconds in. The beloved captain scored twice, including a power play goal. Captain Cally was all over the ice, helping our team move into a tie in points (52) with idle Ottawa. By virtue of one extra game left, the Sens still are seventh while the Rangers are eighth with three games remaining.

The importance of today’s win was imperative with Winnipeg getting a point in their shootout loss to the Islanders Saturday. Those three-point games are the worst. Our team got help yesterday from the Leafs, who clinched their first postseason berth since 2004 with a win over the Sens. With three to go, the Rangers lead the Jets by three. Winnipeg visits Buffalo tomorrow, Washington Tuesday and hosts Montreal Thursday. The Blueshirts visit Florida Tuesday, Carolina Thursday and return home for the Devils next Saturday.

Entering today, the Rangers knew their Hudson rival needed the game to stay alive. Basically, the Devils had to win out and get help. Something Hasan referenced already and didn’t expect. The injury to Ilya Kovalchuk proved too much to overcome. Though listening to the NBC telecast irked me. Injuries are part of the game. Our team’s been without Marc Staal. The good teams overcome who’s out. Since the trade deadline, the Rangers are 7-2-1 having scored 33 goals (3.3-per-game). They’ve registered at least three-or-more in six games including the last three. They erupted for 18 in beating Florida, Buffalo and New Jersey. A great response to a frustrating loss at Philadelphia.

On the game’s first shift, Callahan took advantage of a bounce off a strong fore check from Carl Hagelin and Derek Stepan to slip a puck by Marty Brodeur. The Rangers continued to apply pressure on a flat Devil club who struggled defensively. Callahan delivered a couple of big hits on another shift, revving up the crowd. Ryan Carter didn’t help his team by mixing it up with Darroll Powe, earning an extra two for roughing. One of the few good calls in a game reffed by Chris Rooney (see Hasan’s previous post). He also called Hagelin for a retaliation after David Clarkson knocked him down. And then made an atrocious call on Carter after the Rangers went up 2-0.

Stepan continued his strong play by getting his 16th. Arron Asham made a good play, recovering the puck to Anton Stralman, who moved it to Ryan McDonagh. McDonagh fired from the left point with Stepan in front able to get a piece of it. Ryane Clowe was also there, providing a double screen on Brodeur. Stepan’s goal and helper gave him 40 points in Game 45. Considering his slow start, what a transformation. In April, D-Step’s recorded a point in 10 of 11 games. He’s 6-9-15 with a plus-11 rating.

With our team leading by two, Mike Del Zotto got away with a trip on Kovalchuk. It prevented a scoring opportunity for the Devils. Frustrated, Pete DeBoer let them have it following a trip on Carter. It was atrocious. Even if you’re on our side, this was about as bad as it gets. With help from our power play, the Devils still killed off both penalties to hang around. No penalties were called during the second.

The Devils came out much sharper in the middle stanza. They pinned our team in and shot from every angle. Only the stellar play of Henrik Lundqvist prevented them from making it a game. Lundqvist was at his absolute best, stoning David Clarkson and Travis Zajac. He also got some luck when Marek Zidlicky set up Steve Bernier perfectly but he missed. Despite dominating the first half, the Devs didn’t have anything to show for it. Another inspired shift from Callahan helped swing the momentum. He chipped a loose puck to Hagelin for the Rangers’ first shot of the period, forcing Brodeur to make a good save. From that point, they settled down.

A couple of shifts later, Brad Richards intercepted a Anton Volchenkov pass and dished for Taylor Pyatt, who ripped his fifth past Brodeur’s glove for a 3-0 lead at 11:56. It was Pyatt’s first goal in 27 games (2/26 vs WPG). He scored his 135th goal in his 800th career game. Since being moved onto a line with Richards and Mats Zuccarello, the original Islander No.1 pick’s responded with points in three consecutive games (1-2-3). Ever since Brian Boyle went down and Chris Kreider came up, our team’s looked better. The lines have more balance. Something Tortorella alluded to in a first period interview with Pierre McGuire.

Trailing by three and on a power play, Devils all-time franchise scoring leader Patrik Elias lost his cool. He took the Devils’ second unsportsmanlike conduct to give the Rangers an abbreviated man-advantage. On it, Callahan notched his second of the game thanks to some great passing from Richards and Del Zotto. After Del Zotto moved the puck to Richards, he faked before dishing for Callahan down low. Captain Cally chipped the puck over a diving Brodeur, who missed the poke check. That gave Callahan 14 goals. A team-leading six have come on the power play. Over his last four games, Captain Cally has six points (3-3-6). Richards also had two helpers, giving him seven points (4-3-7) over the past three with a plus-six rating.

Leading by four, the only thing left was whether Lundqvist would pick up the shutout. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be with Andrei Loktionov beating him with his eighth at 13:30. Loktionov took a Kovalchuk pass and rifled home his eighth from the left circle. Peter Harrold picked up the secondary assist.

As time wind down, predictable chants of “Season’s over,” rained down from The Garden. It doesn’t make up for losing to them last year. But anytime you can knock out the Devils, it’s good. I can still remember one of those dreadful pre-lockout teams being ousted by the Devils with us chasing the Islanders. Back then, Devil fans felt sorry for us. At least things have changed. The Rangers still have some work to do. Keep it going.

NY Puck 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (26 saves incl. 12/12 in busy 2nd-The Vezina King)
2nd Star-Brad Richards, NYR (2 assists, 4 takeaways incl. key set up for Pyatt) 
1st Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (2 goals-13, 14, 5 hits, +1 in 23:18-Captain Clutch)