• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Dawes, Lundqvist guide Rangers past Devils

Mar 20, 2008 - 4:01 AM NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Nigel Dawes scored the lone goal of the shootout and Henrik Lundqvist denied all three shooters he faced as the New York Rangers skated to a 2-1 triumph over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

Chris Drury tallied in regulation for New York (39-26-9), which pulled even in points with idle Ottawa (40-26-7) for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers also improved to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games and a perfect 6-0-0 against the Devils this season.

"Even though we've been playing real well, it's still tight," Lundqvist said. "We still need the points. We know we can beat this team."

Dainius Zubrus scored the lone goal for New Jersey (42-24-7), which fell to 14-4-4 in its last 22 games but moved past idle Montreal (40-24-10) for sole possession of first place in the East.

"We came one mistake short," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "I thought we played very well. The Rangers are a very good defensive team.

"Ten points separates ninth from first (place). We're in control of our own destiny."

In the second round of the bonus format, Dawes skated in and temporarily froze goaltender Martin Brodeur with a deke before sliding the puck between the pads of the three-time Vezina Trophy winner.

"I tried to make him make the first move and I just reacted off that," Dawes said. "The games are huge. It's a critical time of the year, but also a real fun time to play. Everything's important, and I really like the way the team's responded."

Brodeur, however, saw it differently.

"He missed his shot," Brodeur said. "He was going to shoot it (high) and it kind of went off his heel and went low, and my stick was off the ice."

Lundqvist, who stopped 17 shots in regulation and overtime, made pad saves on captain Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Gionta and Zach Parise in the shootout.

Brodeur, who finished with 20 saves, fell to 0-3-3 against the Rangers this season.

"Definitely, we're happy about getting one point," he said. "We wish we could have two, but it wasn't meant to be against these guys today."

Zubrus opened the scoring just 6:05 into the first period.

With New Jersey on a power play, Zubrus accepted a feed from Michael Rupp in the slot and quickly wristed a shot past Lundqvist for his 12th goal of the season and fourth with the man advantage.

"We feel like we played well enough to win the game," Zubrus said. "It was a good, emotional game for us. Every point is a point, but right now, it feels like a loss. We've got to put it behind us."

"They're a tough team to beat when they get the first goal," Lundqvist said. "It was a game where it was really hard to create anything. The patience we showed tonight was great. I think we looked really sharp in the third. Big two points for us."

The Devils maintained the slim advantage thanks to Brodeur, who made his best save of the night late in the first, when he used his blocker to deny Martin Straka on a breakaway.

The 35-year-old netminder saw his bid for his 97th career shutout thwarted when Drury leveled the contest with just 4:46 remaining in the third period.

Stationed behind the net, Ryan Callahan skated out to his right before firing a cross-crease pass to Drury, who blasted it past Brodeur for his 23rd goal.

"He shot it top shelf," Brodeur said. "He was wide open beside the net and buried it."

"There wasn't a lot of space," Drury said. "It seems like anytime you get a shot, there are sticks or bodies in the way."