Post by jenny123 on Jan 22, 2014 22:14:53 GMT -5
NEW YORK -- From their coach and throughout the dressing room, the New York Rangers shake their heads with disinterest whenever someone mentions one of their many accomplishments in a stellar regular season. Not only dont they care about the achievements, sometimes they arent even aware of them. Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards scored early, and defenceman Michael Del Zotto had two goals in the third period as the NHL-leading Rangers won their fourth in a row and moved closer to securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night. It is only the third time in franchise history that the Rangers have won 50 games in a season. "It doesnt mean squat. I will tell you right now it means absolutely nothing," New York coach John Tortorella said. "Its about how were playing as we go through these next four games against tough opponents. Its about our game going into the playoffs. You get measured by the playoffs." That picture is becoming clearer each day for the Rangers, who hold a five-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the East and a one-point edge over Western Conference-leading St. Louis in the race for the NHLs top mark. Any combination of three points gained by the Rangers or lost by Pittsburgh, and one earned by New York or lost by Philadelphia will end the pursuit for first in the East. "We dont focus on them," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "I dont really care if they are winning or losing." Lundqvist was steady throughout in winning for the third straight game and for the sixth time in seven. He won at Minnesota and at Winnipeg to get to 250 NHL victories, and helped the Rangers widen their lead. His best stop of the night came two minutes into the third period when he denied David Desharnais on a breakaway to keep the score at 2-0. Rene Bourque spoiled Lundqvists chances of a shutout when he scored with 2:29 left to make it 4-1. Lundqvist made 19 saves. "The last three or four games, we really responded in a good way," Lundqvist said. "Youre going to have games where you feel like you can do a lot better, but overall our consistency over the last week has been great. Everybody understands how we have to play to have success." Gaborik scored in the first period and Richards had a power-play goal in the second for the Rangers (50-21-7), who are 6-1 since a 2-5 skid earlier this month. Del Zotto also had a man-advantage goal. "I didnt even know tonight was 50," Del Zotto said. "Knowing now, its great but its not something were going to be satisfied with. We want to keep moving forward. Wed like to win the rest of our games. "We know were at the top of the standings, but its not something were really that focused on. We just want to peak come playoff time and get all the kinks out of our game." Carey Price was sturdy and made 25 saves for the disappointing Canadiens (29-35-14), who played their first game since general manager Pierre Gauthier was fired, and team adviser Bob Gainey left on Thursday. "The heart was in the game," Canadiens coach Randy Cunneyworth said. "Its an awfully good team that we are trying to outwork, and I thought we outworked and had some zone time. "They have a lot going for them. They are a very good team, as everyone knows. We knew it would be a tough task, but I like the fact that we worked hard." The Rangers came into this game facing a lot less pressure because their lead in the East grew this week from one point to five over Pittsburgh, which surprisingly lost twice to the out-of-contention New York Islanders. Although there wasnt much action over the first two periods, the Rangers scored once in each frame and were never threatened by the Canadiens, who are just hoping to escape the East cellar. This low position is quite unfamiliar to Montreal, which won the Stanley Cup for the first time on this date in 1916. Gaborik got the Rangers going 8:59 in when he took a second whack at a rebound of Richards shot in the slot and slid the puck inside the left post for his 39th goal. Richards made it 2-0 just 30 seconds into the second. He took a pass from Derek Stepan at the blue line, skated into the high slot, and snapped in his 25th goal. New York took advantage of a penalty for too many men on the ice called against Montreal in the final minute of the first period. Del Zotto scored a rare power-play goal 8:17 into the third, firing a shot that squeezed past Price. He made it 4-0 with 3:02 remaining, scoring his 10th of the season. Gaborik and Richards earned assists on the final goal. Although their power play came in ranked third from the bottom in the NHL at 14.7 per cent, the Rangers are remarkably efficient when they cash in -- going 24-1-4 in games in which they score a power-play goal. The Rangers are 4 for 9 on the power play in the past two games. "With the skill we have, were going to be able to score goals," Del Zotto said. "You see just the way were moving the puck, were moving bodies. "Were not predictable. Teams dont know exactly where were going to be attacking from or whats going to be happening. Thats what makes us deadly right now." NOTES: Lundqvist has held opponents to two goals or fewer 40 times this season, including six of the past eight. ... Rangers captain Ryan Callahan was given the teams Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award before the game. He and Adam Graves are the only three-time winners. ... The Canadiens and Rangers split the four-game season series. Steven Hauschka Super Bowl Jersey . San Francisco Giants president Larry Baer and Pence held an intense, 15-minute meeting after Friday nights game to work out details of a $90 million, five-year contract. Red Bryant Jersey . Buffon has a left thigh muscle injury that also forced him to sit out Italys 3-1 win over Denmark on Tuesday. Vucinic, who has been Juves top forward this season, has a fever. www.authenticseahawksjerseysnfl.com/Seattle-Seahawks_Breno-Giacomini-Super-Bowl-Jersey/ .C. -- Former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield, barred from the association since 2009 for a failed drug test, was arrested at his western North Carolina home and charged with possession of methamphetamine, and police said Wednesday he may face more charges. James Carpenter Super Bowl Jersey . More performances like Tuesday night will help Simon stake a claim to a permanent spot in the Baltimore Orioles rotation. Simon allowed one run and three hits in a career-high eight innings, and Vladimir Guerrero and Mark Reynolds both had three hits as the Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins 8-1. Paul McQuistan Jersey . -- Brandon Moss tied a career high with five RBIs, including his second homer in two games, and the Oakland Athletics extended their winning streak to seven games with an 11-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night. SEATTLE -- Lamar Neagle figures hes now up to speed in MLS. The Seattle forward proved it by scoring his first career hat trick on a record-setting afternoon as the Sounders beat the Columbus Crew 6-2 on Saturday. Neagle scored twice during a four-goal first-half for the Sounders (13-5-9) and completed the hat trick in the 70th minute when a shot from the top of the penalty area bounced off the crossbar and dropped behind the goal line. "The level was a bit too fast for me in 2009," Neagle said of his first brief stint with the Sounders. "Going down to Charleston (of the USL Second Division) really helped me out." Added Sounders coach Sigi Schmid: "Hes working on his first touch, which is something that is helping his game come along. His first goal was a little bit fortunate. The second one was clinical, and on his third one, he loves cutting inside and hitting that." Seattles offensive outburst overshadowed what also became a record-breaking day for Columbus Jeff Cunningham. The Crew forward became the leading goal-scorer in MLS history when he converted a penalty kick in the 59th minute. That was his 134th goal, eclisping the previous mark set by Jaime Moreno in a 15-year league career, 14 of which were spent with D.C. United. Cunningham tied Morenos record when he scored in a 1-0 win at Vancouver on July 6, but had been kept off the board since then. He also is the Crews all-time leading scorer, now with 64 goals. "Im going to keep this ball for the rest of my life," Cunningham said. "Im very humbled of Jaime Moreno, Brian McBride, Landon Donovan, and all of those guys. The list goes on, and Im just honoured to be grouped with those guys." Columbus (11-8-7) had a two-game winning streak snappedd.dddddddddddd Neagles strikes in the fourth and 21st minutes were sandwiched around a penalty kick by Mauro Rosales in the 16th minute. The three goals in 17 minutes were the fastest in the three-year history of the Sounders, beating their old record of three in 19 minutes against New England on June 5, 2010. Mike Fucito made it 4-0 in the 40th minute, giving the Sounders their first-ever four-goal half. The six goals for the game was a team record, breaking the old mark of four. "We havent had a game like this where weve gotten off to a good start in a while. Usually, its the other way around where we have to kind of dig ourselves out of a hole," Neagle said. "It was nice that we were connecting at the beginning and throughout the whole game. We were all on the same page offensively and defensively for the most part, except toward the end." The fourth-minute goal by Neagle tied for the earliest ever by a Sounder. After taking a short pass from Fucito, Neagle went one on one downfield with Crew defender Rich Balchan. Finally, from just to the left of the penalty area restraining arc, Neagle fired toward the far post. Columbus goalkeeper William Hesmer went down and deflected the shot with his left hand, but it rolled behind him and into the net. Josh Gardner scored in the 73rd minute for Columbus, but then gave it right back when he knocked a ball into his own net in the 74th minute for Seattles sixth goal. "The goals we gave up today were not the best ones. We made a lot of mistakes and they punished us," Crew coach Robert Warzycha said. "To be honest, they were moving quicker and were more aggressive with the ball. Sometimes, we tried to help and shift, and another (Sounder) would be open." ' ' '