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Lundqvist, Drury keep Rangers perfect vs. Devils

Feb 2, 2008 - 4:13 AM By Joe Rizzo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Already into the fifth month of the season, the New Jersey Devils remain in search of their first win against a local foe.

Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves, Chris Drury scored twice and rookie Brandon Dubinsky added a goal Friday to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-1 victory over the Devils, their fifth in as many meetings between the Hudson River rivals this season.

Zach Parise scored for the Devils, who fell to 0-3-2 against the Rangers and also are 0-4-1 against the New York Islanders this season. New Jersey is 28-13-0 against the rest of the NHL.

"We're a low-scoring team," Lundqvist said. "We have to face it. We don't score too much. When we realize it, we have a better chance to win. So far, we have been playing our best (against the Devils). It's not like they have been playing bad against us. Some teams just have a tougher time beating you. Hopefully, we can keep it going."

"We played a good hockey game," Parise said. "That's been the story every time we've played them. We play pretty well and lose by that one goal. If you split those games down the middle, (the standings) would be different. We're keeping them in there. It's tough. You don't want to keep losing four-point games."

After starting the new calendar year 0-4-2 on the road, the Rangers enjoyed their second consecutive evening with a win away from Madison Square Garden within the Atlantic Division. They were coming off a 4-0 victory at Philadelphia behind a 20-save performance by backup goaltender Stephen Valiquette.

"Back-to-back huge games," said Rangers All-Star center Scott Gomez, a long-time former Devil who was booed heartily with each touch of the puck. "To win two road games within the division like this is great. We took a big step. We play like this, we'll have a great chance to win night in and night out."

The Devils have lost three straight games in regulation for the first time this season. They have dropped four of their first five contests in a scheduling stretch that sees them play 15 of 18 games at the Prudential Center.

Dubinsky opened the scoring four minutes into the game. He skated through the neutral zone and into the left faceoff circle, where he let go a hard slap shot that beat netminder Martin Brodeur to the glove side for his eighth goal of the season.

A participant in the YoungStars Game during All-Star Weekend, Dubinsky has two goals and three points in five games against the Devils this season. Conversely, New Jersey has totaled just four goals against Lundqvist, who has been in the net for every contest.

"I think (Devils defenseman) Colin White turned it over," Dubinsky said. "I saw Sean (Avery) breaking, so I shot it and hoped for a rebound on Marty. Fortunately, it went in."

With the Rangers on a power play, Drury doubled the lead 2:06 into the second period with his 14th goal. Drury was at the end line on the left side of the net when he unleashed a wrist shot that banked off Brodeur's left skate and in.

Brodeur, who turned aside 23 shots overall, made four spectacular point-blank saves during the man advantage before allowing the unusual goal.

Gomez recorded an assist on the play for his 500th career point.

Parise matched the odd goal less than three minutes later. After Brodeur rushed to the bench for an extra attacker during a delayed penalty, Parise shot wide left, followed the puck to the end boards and sent it off the bottom of Lundqvist's right skate and into the net for his team-best 19th goal.

It was just the third tally in 13 games in 2008 for Parise, whose other two goals in the span came on January 22.

Drury matched Gomez's personal accomplishment with four seconds remaining, scoring into an empty net during a power play to seal the win. With the goal, Drury also reached the 500-point plateau for his career.

Both Drury and Gomez were signed to lucrative free-agent contracts by the Rangers last summer.

"We've been more disciplined lately," said Drury, who along with his coaches and teammates stressed 20-second shifts. "We talked about having fresh guys out there. It limits mistakes. We've won four of five. (We're) starting to build some momentum here."

Despite playing eight times over the course of the season, the clubs had not met since December 9 and will not play again until March 19.

"We do need to find ways to score more goals," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "And yet we did a lot of good things tonight. We put pucks at the net and they did not go in. Another game where you score one goal, and in this league, it is a tough thing to win when you're only scoring one goal."

The win raised the Rangers' season total to 58 points. Philadelphia leads the division with 61, with Pittsburgh (60) and New Jersey (59) close behind.

New York has played three more games than the Devils. "We don't want to be in position to have to go 19-1 down the stretch to make the playoffs," Dubinsky said.