Vancouver Canucks post another loss on the road
Lundqvist ties Plante on career wins list with victory over visiting Vancouver
NEW YORK — Two of the New York Rangers’ younger players helped veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist get a big milestone win.
Filip Chytil and Brett Howden scored to back Lundqvist’s 437th career win as the Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Monday night.
Lundqvist tied Jacques Plante for seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list.
“The guy knows how to win games,” alternate captain Marc Staal said of the 36-year-old Lundqvist. “You have to be an elite competitor and elite goaltender to have that many wins, it’s that simple. He has brought that his entire time here.”
The Rangers improved to 6-0-1 in their last seven, getting their longest points streak since an 11-0-2 run Oct. 18 to Nov. 15, 2015.
Lundqvist stopped 25 shots, including two big saves on Vancouver’s rookie sensation Elias Pettersson in the closing seconds to preserve the win.
“We have to keep same mindset as when we started the season,” Lundqvist said. “A lot of teams in the league in the same boat, will come down to how hard you want to work. It’s about being consistent — you can beat any team in the league”
Nikolay Goldobin scored and Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves for the Canucks, who snapped a six-game point streak (4-0-2).
The 19-year-old Chytil tied the score 1-1 with 7:18 left in the second on a rebound from the left side for his first of the season.
After earning a spot on the roster out of training camp, Chytil struggled to find the back of the net in the first 18 games. Rangers coach David Quinn said earlier in the day he had not lost faith in the talented teen and was rewarded for his patience, with Chris Kreider and Neal Pionk assisting on the goal.
The 20-year Howden got the game-winner with 8:41 left in the third when he snapped a wrist shot past Markstrom.
“You can play your young players and win. That’s what we have done so far,” Quinn said after the victory. “We want to win right now. That was our goal from Day 1, and that is our goal right now.”
It was the first time two players 20-yearsold or younger scored for the Rangers since Daniel Goneau and Christian Dube did it in October 1996.
Goldobin gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 3:16 of the second. Shortly after exiting the penalty box, he picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and started an odd-man rush for Vancouver. The Russian winger kept it himself and wired a wrister off the post and past Lundqvist.
The Canucks thought they doubled their advantage less than a minute later when Michael Del Zotto’s shot hit both posts. The referees initially called the play a good goal, but it was overturned after a video review.
“It’s tough right now, but I thought we played a really good road game,” Markstrom said. “We created a lot of chances and could’ve scored a lot of goals. We have to keep working. The good thing with this league is that there’s a game tomorrow.”
The Canucks visit the New York Islanders tonight.