Henrik Lundqvist stops Jaromir Jagr on a breakaway en route to a Rangers franchise record 50th shutout.
Ed Mulholland-USA Today Sports

There’s a new shutout king. Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 21 highlighting a Rangers 2-0 win over the Devils at Prudential Center. By shutting out the close Hudson rival, Lundqvist passed Eddie Giacomin for first all-time in Ranger franchise history recording number 50.

He did it by making timely saves throughout. Facing the opposite number 30 Martin Brodeur in a Devil jersey for likely the final time, Lundqvist stole the spotlight in Newark. Even though he didn’t face a ton of shots due to help from a stingy defense that held the Devils to 11 through two periods, he came up large stopping 10 in the third when the Jersey hosts launched an all out assault.

They were all over the Rangers but never found a way to beat him. That included a final frantic minute when the Devils nearly tied it on a great chance in front. But a sprawling Lundqvist dove on top of the loose puck getting a whistle. The play was reviewed but wasn’t overturned. It wasn’t conclusive and didn’t appear to cross the goal line. It took that kind of heroic goaltending from Lundqvist to come away with a huge two points that moved them up to 82 trailing red hot Philly by one for second in the Metro.

He didn’t see much activity early but the ever dangerous Jaromir Jagr snuck behind Ryan McDonagh for a breakaway. The 42-year old living legend made a strong move going to a forehand deke but a sliding Lundqvist made a strong leg save to keep the game scoreless. In many aspects, that defined the way the game was played. Despite keeping the Devils at bay, the Rangers were on the defensive late. Even a questionable call on Andy Greene that put them on a power play with 2:03 left wasn’t enough. They needed their best to deliver.

Rick Nash scored the only goal. Following a wide Derek Stepan centering feed, Nash fired a harmless wrist shot from a bad angle that fooled Brodeur. It was Nash’s second consecutive big game. That followed up a statement return match versus his former team the Blue Jackets in Columbus. He didn’t score having a goal wiped out. But went back at Sergei Bobrovsky during a post scrum and dropped the gloves with Matt Calvert to spark his team. Trailing by one, they responded by scoring the last three for a big 3-1 win that put them into third.

Without Lundqvist, there is no third consecutive win. Though it was interesting to see him allude to how well his teammates defended. The Rangers blocked 14 shots and made several key defensive plays when the Devils applied pressure. In particular, Jagr who seemed to be out every other shift in the third with different line mates. Following the record-breaker, an excited Lundqvist mentioned how their opponent missed the net quite a bit. New Jersey had 27 shots that never reached its target including 13 misses.

He also showed a lot of emotion when discussing with John Giannone that it might’ve been the final time he faced Brodeur. Lundqvist was quick to mention his counterpart’s records and how much he’s enjoyed the rivalry. It was the 41st time they’ve met during the regular season. If it was the final time, Lundqvist made it special for the Blueshirt side.