You watch the New York Rangers this season and you see a difference in the attitude on the ice.
There have been bad games and games they should have won and games they fell apart late. But there is a sense of “team” at Madison Square Garden.
Monday night, Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves to backstop the Rangers to a 4-2 win over the visiting Ottawa Senators.
“We can’t rely on just a few guys, we need everybody to play a big part on this team, so it’s important to get guys going and feel good about their game, get the confidence high, because we win as a group here,” Lundqvist said. “That’s the only way for us this year, the way we’re built.”
Marc Staal picked up his first goal of the season in win over Senators – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Chris Kreider continued his scoring with his 13th on the season as the Rangers struck for three goals in the third period.
“One of the things we talked about in between the second and third was I thought the team that played the most honest hockey was going to win the hockey game,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said. “I didn’t think there was a lot of honest hockey from our end in the first two periods. From the drop of the puck in the third, we were paying attention to detail, we weren’t getting ahead of ourselves, and we showed all the things you need to show to play winning hockey.
“After we made it 3-1, I thought we reverted back, and I thought thank God for our goalie because that game could have been 3-3 in a hurry.”
Marc Staal connected for his first of the year.
Lias Andersson picked up his first goal for New York when a puck deflected into the Ottawa net off his backside.
“A goal is a goal,” Andersson said. “Definitely not the prettiest one, but I’ll still take it.”
Mark Stone scored twice for the Senators in the loss; Ottawa has lost four straight games and dropped to 9-12-3.
“We’re in the business of winning hockey games, and right now we’re struggling,” Stone said. “It’s going to bring out some character in all of us.”
Mika Zibanejad added an empty net goal late for the final score.
“We were leaving this locker room going out for the third saying it’s 1-1 and we haven’t played nearly how we can play. I thought in the third we stuck it to them a little bit. We got two quick goals, and it’s a lot nicer playing with the lead than battling back,” Kevin Hayessaid after the win.
[WATCH: All Senators vs. Rangers highlights]
Craig Anderson made 29 savesin the loss.
“One play killed us, but it’s the similar type of hurt we’ve been giving to ourselves. We sabotage ourselves a little bit, and it’s something that we’ve got to take away. We’re going to learn,” Senators head coach Guy Boucher said after the game.
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