Antti Raanta gets another shutout for Rangers

NEW YORK -- Antti Raanta made 19 saves for his second straight shutout to help the New York Rangers to a 5-0 win against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Raanta, who has been getting the nod over a healthy Henrik Lundqvist, helped the Rangers to three straight wins in a span of four days with 62 saves on 63 shots. He won 2-1 at the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and 1-0 at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

Raanta (8-1-0) is the first Rangers goaltender to earn a shutout in back-to-back regular season games since Mike Dunham in March 2003.
WATCH: All Devils vs. Rangers highlights
"Like I've said many times, he does what a goaltender is supposed to do, gives you a chance to win," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "He made the timely save at the beginning of the second period (against Vernon Fiddler) that I thought was a difference-maker in this game."
Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Brady Skjei, Brandon Pirri and Jimmy Vesey scored for the Rangers (20-9-1).

Cory Schneider made 26 saves for the Devils (12-10-6), who have lost three straight.
"We had a couple mistakes on certain plays (in the second) that wound up in the back of our net," Devils coach John Hynes said. "The way you fix it is you go back, analyze the game. We have a couple days to regroup and we'll work at it."
Miller scored shorthanded and Skjei scored his first NHL goal in the second to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead.
Pirri scored a power-play goal 6:04 into the third for a 4-0 lead, and Vesey scored a power-play goal with 1:18 remaining.

The Devils had five shots on five power-play chances (0-for-5). The Rangers finished 2-for-6 on the power play.
"Special teams was a big part of the game," Devils center Adam Henrique said. "We gave up a couple on the penalty kill and our power play struggled; that played a big part."

Kreider gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead off a give-and-go with Mats Zuccarello 16:43 into the first.
The Devils thought they took a 1-0 lead 1:09 into the game, but Henrique's shot was ruled no goal after video review revealed he kicked the puck over the goal line.

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Goal of the game

Skjei scored his first NHL goal off a shot from the point with three seconds remaining in the second period to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead. Derek Stepan, who had the primary assist, retrieved the puck following a big celebration for the rookie defenseman. "It was very exciting," Skjei said. "You dream of that when you're a kid, so to get my first one is huge."

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Save of the game

Raanta used his right pad to deny Fiddler, who took a pass from Ben Lovejoy before skating in 1-on-1 3:32 into the second and the Rangers holding a 1-0 lead. "I just try to go one game at a time; don't try to think too much about games in a row," Raanta said. "The whole team has been playing good in front of me and it's a big help."

Highlight of the game

Kreider scored off great work from his line with Stepan and Zuccarello. After cycling the puck in the corner, Zuccarello passed to Kreider in the right circle for a 1-0 lead 16:43 into the first.

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Unsung performance of the game

Hayes made a great pass under the stick of defenseman Damon Severson to Miller for a shorthanded goal 16:07 into the second for a 2-0 lead.

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They said it

"We have to stay positive, but also have to take a look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we can do better and challenge each other and challenge yourself. We have to have a little urgency and stop feeling sorry for ourselves. It starts with me. I have to set the tone and make sure we're ready to go." -- Devils captain Andy Greene
"[Lundqvist] is supportive. We try to push each other and whenever the other guy has a good game or bad game, you're still there for him. This is a team game so we're there for each other, we try to help each other. Whenever someone is getting a good job done, we appreciate that; he's a class act." -- Rangers goalie Antti Raanta

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Need to know

Lundqvist hadn't served as a healthy backup for three straight games since December 2013, when Cam Talbot started. ... The Devils have allowed 47 goals in the past 12 games and have equaled a season-high three straight losses.

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What's next

Devils: At the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Rangers: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, MSG 2, CSN-CH, NHL.TV)