For the second straight game, the New York Rangers rode a hat trick to a road win. This time it was in Denver where the Rangers won 6-2 over the Colorado Avalanche behind Chris Kreider‘s three goals.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist (#30) – picked up 390th NHL win in Denver – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“I look at it as another two points, a big win on the road for us,” Kreider said. “Obviously offense was going, we’re doing some things we talked about, so there’s some building blocks in that game we can build off going forward.”
Henrik Lundqvist won the game and it marked his 390th NHL victory to pass Dominik Hasek for most wins by a European-born goalie.
“He was such a big inspiration to me,” Lundqvist said of Hasek. “Growing up, I have posters of him on the wall, watched him play on highlights. I tried the things I saw him do on the ice. Big inspiration, the way he played the game, the way he competed. So first to tie, then break his record, it means a lot to me, it really does.”
New York’s J.T. Miller had two goals in the game including a blast from the top of the right circle that beat Calvin Pickard (31 saves on the night) over the glove side.
“It seems like there isn’t much going our way. It’s getting pretty crazy at this point. It seems like every home game, we’re getting pumped. We have to keep battling, keep competing,” Pickard said after the game.
Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York.
Cody McLeod gave the Avs an early 1-0 lead before the Rangers replied with two goals from Kreider in the first period.
“He’s (Kreider) a player that always goes to the front of the net, always brings the puck there. He has a great net screen, real tough forward to get out of that area, so it’s nothing new. He’s always been doing it and tonight he got rewarded,” Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said.
Blake Comeau tied the game at 2-2 before the end of the first.
“It’s on us to make sure that we’re not making those types of mistakes and putting ourselves shorthanded all the time when we’re in a hockey game,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.
WATCH: All Rangers vs. Avalanche highlights
From there it was all downhill for the Avs as the Rangers tacked on two goals in the second and third periods.
“We’re just doing different things every night to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Colorado forward Matt Duchene said. “I’m at a loss, I don’t know what more to say. We have to play a perfect game to win a hockey game right now. When we do, we win. When we don’t, even if we’re near perfect, we still don’t win.”
Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello had two assists each on the night for New York.
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