Sunday, February 19, 2017

Celebrating Hockey Day in America with top NHL Games

Hockey day in America is a great celebration of the sport of hockey throughout the various ponds and rinks of the country. Sunday saw key match ups including a top Metropolitan Division showdown between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. It was a busy night in the NHL, and what a better way than to celebrate this day by having 11 games in one day. The match up that was anticipated was the Washington Capitals visit to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers. The best team in the NHL was coming off a long one week break and from a shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Rangers are starting to hit form looking sharp lately despite their recent loss to rivals New York Islanders snapping their six-game losing streak.

Minnesota native Ryan Mcdonagh opened the scoring up in the first period giving the Blueshirts the early lead. The Rangers captain has been having a great season. There were 13 Americans in this divisional game which goes to show the American representation throughout both lineups.

Despite the Rangers winning the game courtesy of Mats Zuccarello, the Capitals really tested Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers who have won seven of their last eight games are now two points behind Columbus for the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals are still in comfortable position at the top of the league and their division with Pittsburgh losing to Detroit.
Source: NY Times