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NFL: Rangers start playoffs by dominating New Jersey

Scott Gomez #19 of the New York Rangers charges up the ice against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday during game one of the 2008 NHL conference quarter-final series at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. PHOTO :AFP

The New York Rangers scored three third-period goals to start the NHL playoffs with a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Wednesday.

In another playoff opener in Pittsburgh, Gary Roberts scored twice to lead the Penguins past Ottawa 4-0. Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves for the shutout.

Former Devil Scott Gomez had three assists and Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves to help the Rangers draw first blood in the opening round series against their bitter rivals.

“There were no extra emotions,” Gomez told reporters. “It’s the playoffs.”

Gomez and the Rangers have had the Devils number all year, going 7-0-1 against them in the regular season, and the trend continued to give New York home-ice advantage in the series.

Game Two is today in Newark and the Devils need a win to avoid going to Madison Square Garden with a two-game deficit.

“You know the Devils are going to come at us hard on Friday,” New York coach Tom Renney said. “We’ve had a lot of success against them this year but they never make it easy on you.”

After a scoreless first period, New York’s Brendan Shanahan and New Jersey’s Paul Martin traded goals before the Rangers came to life in the final 20 minutes.

Ryan Callahan’s short-handed marker at 7:23 turned out to be the game winner, a wraparound shot that New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur thought he should have saved.

“I made a mistake and I cost us,” Brodeur said.

Goals by Sean Avery with less than three minutes left and Nigel Dawes into an empty net completed the scoring.

New Jersey out-shot the Rangers 12-7 in the final period, with Brodeur making 24 saves for the Devils.

Penguins 4, Senators 0

In Pittsburgh, Gary Roberts and Petr Sykora scored in the first period to set up Pittsburgh’s win over the Ottawa Senators.

The favored Penguins, determined not to duplicate their awful postseason opener of a year ago, rode Marc-Andre Fleury’s goaltending after that to secure the opening win in their Eastern Conference playoffs.

Roberts had two goals, only one fewer than he had throughout an injury-interrupted season, and Evgeni Malkin — the NHL’s No. 2 scorer — had a goal and two assists. Pittsburgh, which never recovered from its opening-game loss to Ottawa in their five-game series last April, takes a 1-0 lead into Game 2 on Friday. The Penguins have won their past nine home games.



In other games it was:

• Avalanche 3, Wild 2, OT

• Flames 3, Sharks 2
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