Rangers shut out Devils in Game 3

Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J.

In his latest playoff gem, Henrik Lundqvist had little time to do more than stop every breakaway or 2-on-1 attempt New Jersey shot his way. When he took a moment to breathe, Lundqvist had all the confidence his New York Rangers would bail him out with a goal or two.

“You know sooner or later it’s going to turn,” he said. “It’s going to turn in our favor.”

Unlike those dozens of Devils’ shots, his feeling was right on the mark.

Lundqvist had 36 saves, and Dan Girardi, Chris Kreider and Ryan Callahan scored third-period goals to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday.

Girardi and Kreider scored goals only 1 minute, 57 seconds apart early in the third to seize the momentum in a packed building with fans of both teams at a fever pitch, and give New York a 2-1 series lead. Indeed it was a quick span the Devils may long regret, especially after they dominated long stretches of Game 3.

“We played a real good hockey game,” Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. “We lost. We gotta find a way to score a goal.”

Lundqvist was busy from the opening faceoff en route to his second shutout of the series and third in the postseason. Callahan iced it with an empty-netter late in third.

Game 4 is Monday in New Jersey.

Not even playing on home ice, where they had won four straight, was enough to help the Devils.