NEW YORK -- The Devils marched right into the blue wall of Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Brilliant doesn't begin to describe Lundqvist's performance on this night. He made 41 saves, many of them of the highlight-reel variety with his catching glove, and eight of them against Kovalchuk, who was held off the scoresheet after his two-assist game on Friday night.
Lundqvist's outstanding showing helped the Rangers win for just the second time in nine games and thrust them into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers. Many of Lundqvist's best saves came while the game was scoreless in the early going, allowing his team the opportunity to drive a stake through the Devils with three rapid-fire goals midway through the second period.
"I try to stay focused because if they get an early one, the game can change really fast," Lundqvist said. "As soon as you get a goal, I know how it works for us, when you get a goal you get a lot of energy and the game can totally change."
Lundqvist's best save came in the third period against Devils defenseman Mike Mottau, who crept down from the point and had his shot toward a mostly empty net plucked out of the air by Lundqvist's catching glove.
"He's always good," Callahan said. "Look at his numbers against all teams, and I'm sure they're pretty good. It's a big rivalry. Obviously everybody in the room gets pretty jacked up playing against them. I think Hank was."
Devils coach Jacques Lemaire had no complaints with his team's effort. He chalked the loss up to Lundqvist.
"Their goalie was great," Lemaire said. "He was there at the right moments. When there were great chances, he made the save."
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