NEW YORK (NY) – Jimmy Vesey continues to prove his worth as he recorded his first 3-point game of his career on Tuesday night. He recorded a goal and two assists for a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Blues and now has six goals and three assists in his first 10 games. The 23-year old now leads the entire team in goals with six.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist (#30) – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“It’s seemed like its come out of no where a little bit,” said Vesey “I wasn’t getting the bounces at the beginning but now its all going our way. I think it’s a product of me being put in all the right situations by [head coach Alain Vigneault] and playing with two guys as good as [Stepan] and [Rick] Nash. It’s been a treat for me so far.”
Henrik Lundqvist had a night of his own, stopping all 35 of the St. Louis Blues shots for a 5-0 victory. The shutout was the 60th of his career and the first against the blues.
The five goal victory would consist of five different goal scorers as the Rangers continue their red hot start. The goals would come from Dan Girardi (2), Vesey (6), Nash (5), Mats Zuccarello (5) and Kevin Hayes (3).
The Rangers now lead the NHL with 40 goals in their first 10 games for the first time since the 1992-93 season (@NYRangers). Their goal differential is also best in the NHL at +18.
Though it was mostly smiles for the Blueshirts, there were two scary moments when both captain Ryan McDonagh and center Derek Stepan took their turns heading to the locker room early for injury protocol.
Rick Nash – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
McDonagh seemed to have caught an edge to the eye while Stepan took a blindside hit to the head during a breakout. Both would return however and their status will be updated through the week.
Forward Chris Kreider made his return after missing four straight games and did not miss a beat. The power-forward was up and down the ice making his presence known and recorded two assists (both primary). He went back to his normal wing with center Mika Zibanejed and Zuccarello.
“You need depth,” Kreider commented. “Good teams in this league, they roll four [lines]. That’s huge for us going forward.”
New York is now 6-3. Their next game will be home on Thursday against former Steven McDonald** award winner Cam Talbot and the Oilers at 7pm at MSG.
The Blues will head to the lone star state to face Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars on Thursday at 7:30pm.
Follow Danny on Twitter at @Danny_PJones
**The Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award has been presented each season since 1987-88 to the Rangers player who goes above and beyond the normal call of duty, and is named in honor of paralyzed New York City police officer Steven McDonald.
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