Here’s how easy it looked to hit home runs at Great American Ball Park on Sunday: Todd Frazier lost his grip on the bat during a swing. The ball wound up in the seats anyway.NEW YORK – Back to back, day game after day game, away or home: No matter what obstacles are thrown in front of the New York Rangers these days, none seems to pose a threat to the Eastern Conference leaders.
Less than 24 hours after dispatching the Flyers in Philadelphia during a Saturday matinee, Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers played host to the Washington Capitals and skated off with a grinding 3-2 victory on Sunday.
No flash, no showtime. Just solid work at both ends of the ice that produced a goal in each period and kept Alex Ovechkin and Co. at bay.
“We talked about not having any excuses going into this game, even though it was less than 20 hours from the last game,” said Lundqvist, who made 24 saves after stopping 31 Flyers shots in Saturday’s 5-2 win. “We tried to set the tone right away. To get the first goal was big for us.”
That one was scored by captain Ryan Callahan, who scored against Tampa Bay on Thursday and notched his second career hat trick Saturday with a three-goal outburst.
The Rangers (36-13-5) have won four of five, and six of eight (6-1-1).
DUCKS 5, BLUE JACKETS 3: In Columbus, Ohio, Corey Perry scored three goals for his fifth career hat trick – and second against Columbus this season – to lead Anaheim.
Teemu Selanne picked up an assist for the Ducks to tie Brett Hull for 21st on the NHL’s career list with 1,391 points.
BLUES 3, SHARKS 0: In St. Louis, David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo both scored with a two-man advantage and Andy McDonald had an assist in his return from a concussion that sidelined him for 51 games to lead St. Louis over San Jose Sharks.
PENGUINS 4, LIGHTNING 2: In Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin continued his torrid play, scoring his 31st and 32nd goals of the season as Pittsburgh rallied from a two-goal deficit against Tampa Bay.
PANTHERS 4, ISLANDERS 1: In Uniondale, N.Y., Jose Theodore made 26 saves in his first appearance since Jan. 20 after suffering a knee injury to lead Florida past New York.
KINGS 4, STARS 2: In Dallas, Jordan Nolan and Dwight King each scored their first career goal to help lift Los Angeles over Dallas. Jonathan Quick stopped 26 shots, and Andrei Loktionov for the Kings, who completed a 2-3-1 road trip.
