от blueberryjerry » 10 Яну 2017 05:18
SUNRISE, Fla. . -- Henrik Lundqvist was happy to get the chance to make amends for his previous performance. The 2012 Vezina Trophy winner rebounded from a poor game with 31 saves and Rick Nash scored his second goal of the season to lift the New York Rangers over the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Wednesday night. Lundqvist was back in net after getting pulled from a 5-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Monday, when he gave up four goals in two periods. "I just tried to play my game tonight. It was important for me and the team to bounce back with a solid performance," Lundqvist said. "Im happy with the way I played." It didnt seem anyones confidence in Lundqvist was shaken. "Thats what I expected from him," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Hes a world-class goaltender, strong mentally. I didnt think the game in Tampa was a 5-0 game and tonight obviously we could have played stronger in some situations, but when we did have a breakdown we had a goaltender that made some saves." Mats Zuccarello, Brad Richards and Derick Brassard also scored for the Rangers. Carl Hagelin added an empty-net goal with 24 seconds left. Nick Bjugstad and Scottie Upshall scored in the third period for Florida. Tim Thomas allowed four goals on 21 shots. After the Panthers scored twice to cut their deficit to one, Zuccarellos power-play goal made it 4-2 with 1:28 left. The Rangers improved to 3-1 on their five-game road trip. The five goals tied their season high. With a 3-0 lead, it seemed Lundqvist was cruising toward a shutout. But two Panthers goals late in the third made it close. Florida cut it to 3-1 on Upshalls backhander in front with 7:32 left. Upshall has eight points in his past eight games. Bjugstad brought the puck through the neutral zone and put it in from the left side at 16:17 to close to 3-2. "We did a good job of coming back," Upshall said. "It was a big effort." The Panthers couldnt score again, and the Rangers scored twice in the final 1:28 to put the game away. "I wouldnt say it was one of our best games, but at the end of the day we found a way to win," Vigneault said. "And finding ways to win is the goaltender making some key saves at the right moment; we got that." Florida is 0-2 against the Rangers this season. "We werent good in certain areas," coach Peter Horachek said. "We turned pucks over when we shouldnt. We didnt manage when we should." Nashs third-period goal put New York ahead 3-0. Nash, who missed 17 games with a concussion this season, got control of the puck in the neutral zone and his wrist shot from the slot beat Thomas on the stick side at 5:32. "It was a weird game. The main thing is we got the job done on the road," Nash said. The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Brassards power-play goal in the first. Brassard took a pass from Zuccarello in the slot and tipped it past Thomas glove at 12:13. Brassards goal was his fifth of the season and second in 10 games. The Rangers were 0 for 9 on the power play in their previous two games. New York stretched its lead to 2-0 on Richards goal late in the second period. Richards shot from the right circle went through the legs of two Panthers defenders and Thomas at 18:53. Richards has a team-high seven goals. NOTES: Rangers forward Taylor Pyatt returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a concussion. ... Panthers C Jesse Winchester missed his third game with a lower-body injury. . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000. . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4. . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown.MONTREAL -- The Montreal Alouettes announced on Thursday that they have signed import defensive lineman Jermaine McElveen to a two-year contract. McElveen spent the first four seasons of his CFL career with the Alouettes from 2008 to 2011, and played on two Grey Cup champion teams with Montreal. He played the last two years with Saskatchewan, and is the second member of the defending Grey Cup champs to sign with Montreal in as many days, joining linebacker Diamond Ferri, who signed with the Alouettes on Wednesday. . "Jermaine is a character guy. He really cares," explained Alouettes general manager and coach Jim Popp. "Hes a versatile defensive lineman who can play inside or outside." ' ' '