Heroic Lundqvist and Rangers Topple Sabres 2-1, Dec. 5th '09

Game Highlights:


Henrik Lundqvist played a really strong game and the Rangers won a game in which they scored 2 goals that weren't from Marian Gaborik or Vaclav Prospal. Thus there is a lot more good the Rangers can take from this game then just 2 road points.

This game's success starts with the goaltending. Henrik Lundqvist flirted with a shutout for 59 minutes; spoiled by Jason Pominville during a 6-on-5 after the Sabres pulled Ryan Miller (who also put up a stellar performance. Henrik stopped 36-of-37 shots, while Ryan Miller stopped 30-of-32.

A spirited effort by the Blueshirts with much fewer penalties. In fact when your team is only taking 2-3 penalties per game they become much more memorable and one of these was the coach's fault: too many men on the ice. Let's not forget the '08-09 campaign when the Rangers led the whole NHL in too many men on the ice penalties as well as shorthanded goals against. If John Tortorella is going to readily switch up the components of his lines, he has to be ready to keep up with the pace and diligence in which they are dispatched.

* Ryan Callahan (his 5th) and Chris Higgins (his 3rd) scored the goals for the Rangers. Ryan Callahan now has 2 goals in 4 games and Higgins broke a 10-game slump.

* Enver Lisin didn't pick up his assignments with much tenacity in the latter stages of the first period. As a result he spent the majority of the remainder on the bench, logging only 5:27 ice time. Further as a result, the rest of his line (Brian Boyle and PA Parenteau) suffered on the bench as well. Hopefully John Tortorella finds a good use for these guys.

* Ilkka Heikkinen made his Rangers debut after Bobby Sanguinetti was sent down to Hartford over the weekend in replacement of an injured Wade Redden. Heikkinen was invisible in just under 10 minutes ice time - which is an A+ game for a defensemen plugging a defensive gap as a rookie. Success is written by the fewest amount of mistakes and he was very successful. Definitely kept up with the pace.

* Erik Christensen made his Rangers debut after being claimed off waivers from the Ducks. He blended in nicely and played 3rd line blue collar hockey - exactly what he was brought here for.

All in all, the team played well together. Ales Kotalik's 'boarding' penalty was questionable at best, but could of been avoided. Regardless, the Rangers are moving in the right direction after a dismal past-couple-weeks.

Henrik Lundqvist Post-Game:



John Tortorella Post-Game: