"You Can't Beat Us."

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Marty Brodeur has been shrugging off his previous six losses to the Rangers. No big deal says the great one. This is the same guy who gloated mightily after the Devils swept the Rangers in the playoffs two years ago. He always expressed his deep hatred of the Rangers. I don't think Marty will be shrugging off tonight's loss.

After getting a power play goal from Shanahan (23) the Rangers gave up two goals, one on a deflection by Elias (19) and an unassisted goal by Parise (31) courtesy of an awful giveaway by Backman. The Rangers struck back early in the third period with another power play goal. Backman hit the ice to a chorus of boos and less than thirty seconds later there were cheers for the defensemen as he put a shot past Brodeur's stick side and the game was tied again. It was his second as a Ranger. Backman made some awful plays on defense and some good ones on offense. Too bad hockey doesn't have a two platoon system like football.

Speaking of football, Nigel Dawes came roaring down the ice like a tailback heading for the goal line and following Drury. Drury either tried a pass or a shot and Brodeur kicked it right out to the charging Dawes who was now sliding toward the net on his back courtesy of Zajac who took Dawes down. The puck got under Dawes and he literally carried it over the goal line for a touchdown, oops sorry, for a goal, the game winner. There was a review and the review called it a goal.

The Rangers scored two power play goals in three opportunities breaking a huge 3-46 PP slump. Both goals were scored with Drury, Gomez and Shanahan as the forwards. This was the shooting brigade and for one night it worked. Gomez with two big assists was the number one star of the game and he deserved it. He played a gutsy tough game, never shying away from contact and working the corners fearlessly. Drury was the number three star with three assists and a strong defensive game.

Lundqvist with 32 saves was the number two star of the game. The Prince is the main reason why Brodeur doesn't smile or gloat after Ranger games anymore. The Rangers are 7-0-0 against the Devils this year. In the convoluted NHL the Devils are 0-4-3 against the Rangers. Since coming into the NHL in the 2005-06 season Lundqvist has out dueled Brodeur in head to head matches. Lundqvist is 12-2-3 against Brodeur and Brodeur is 5-9-3 against Lundqvist. No wonder Marty doesn't smile anymore. Maybe next time instead of playing Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York" we could play Frank's other big hit with the Tommy Dorsey Band, "I'll Never Smile Again."

ICINGS: Daniel Rodriguez, ex NYPD, belted out a spirited version of the National Anthem. The crowd was at its boisterous best serenading Brodeur and the Devils with the chant, "You Can't Beat Us." So far, they can't. Shanahan's goal was the 650th of his career and he is 11th on the all time list. The Rangers are tied with the Devils at 91 points one point behind Ottawa, who has played one more game than the Devils and Rangers.

Quote of the day:

"Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis seventeen times in a row." — Tennis great Vitas Gerulaitis (from Queens) after he finally beat Jimmy Connors after sixteen straight losses.

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