Sure, there are games (and even teams) that often remind us of darker, duller times known as the “Dead Puck Era,” but the NHL is obviously in a better place now.
Still, there are some games that come along and practically beat us over the head with those not-so-pleasant memories. The New York Rangers drowned the New Jersey Devils 2-0 tonight in a contest that was “uneventful” enough that Henrik Lundqvist spent most of his post-game interview discussing how “odd” it was:
Well, that’s a little unsettling. Still, it wasn’t all doom and trap-happy gloom. Check out the highlights of that game for another look at Lundqvist’s bedeviling save on Ilya Kovalchuk:
With this win, the Rangers are now nine points ahead of the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins for first overall in the East while they’re easily in the Presidents Trophy race since they trail the Vancouver Canucks by a point but hold two games in hand.
Meanwhile, the Devils are tied with the Ottawa Senators with 74 points, although the Devils hold the sixth spot since they’ve played in two fewer games and have more wins.
Both teams look like contenders, but hopefully future meetings will be a bit more, um, inspiring.