Oct 30, 2008 10:15 pm US/Eastern
Zherdev Shines At Both Ends Of Ice In Rangers Win
NEW YORK (AP) ―
-
-
Nigel Dawes No. 10 of the New York Rangers skates against the Atlanta Thrashers on Oct. 30, 2008, at Madison Square Garden.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Nikolai Zherdev had a goal and assist in the third period, and the New York Rangers fought off the slumping Atlanta Thrashers 3-2 Thursday night.
Zherdev gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal early in the third period and then helped set up Dan Girardi's winner with 6:27 left to give New York its fourth straight win. Markus Naslund also scored for the Rangers, who have won 10 of 13 (10-2-1).
Kari Lehtonen bounced back from a 7-0 home loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday in which he allowed all the goals on 31 shots. He finished with 30 saves, but the Thrashers (2-6-2) dropped their fourth consecutive in regulation and fifth overall (0-4-1).
With the game tied at 2, Zherdev shot the puck through the crease on a wraparound try. Girardi scored the winner on the putback.
Slava Kozlov gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead in the first and Bryan Little tied it in the third. Todd White had two assists.
Atlanta made it 2-2 during a power play at 10:28 when White found Little alone in front. With goalie Henrik Lundqvist sprawled on his stomach, Little lifted a shot over him for his fifth goal.
The Rangers took a 2-1 lead 3:30 earlier on Zherdev's power-play goal. Zherdev took the puck from defenseman Tobias Enstrom near the right-wing boards, worked it back and forth on his stick as he closed in on Lehtonen, then snapped a backhand that somehow squeezed under the crossbar and popped up the water bottle.
Naslund, who extended his point streak to five with a first-period goal, thought he had given the Rangers the lead during a power play 30 seconds into the middle period. Naslund got to a rebound of his shot, turned his right foot and skated into the puck -- knocking it past Lehtonen. The goal was waved off after a video replay.
That began a string of three straight power plays for the Rangers, who had a pair of fruitless 5-on-3 advantages before the second period was 3 minutes old. The first lasted 1:12, compared to 3 seconds for the latter. All three power plays ran off with frustrated fans at Madison Square Garden imploring the Rangers to shoot. New York didn't record a shot while skating with a two-man advantage.
Atlanta nearly grabbed the lead while short-handed when White escaped a pack of Rangers and raced on a breakaway. White was chased by Zherdev, who caught him with a full-body dive and knocked the puck away with a swipe of his stick.
The Thrashers, who recorded only 14 shots through two periods, took a 1-0 lead 4:41 into the game. Kozlov snapped a shot into the top right corner for his fourth goal.
Naslund tied it 7:44 later with his fourth.
Lundqvist made 27 saves and earned his NHL-leading eighth win.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT 23 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments