Devils 2, Rangers 1 (OT)
NEW YORK -- Right winger Lee Stempniak scored with 1:53 remaining in overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.
The win was the first of the season for the Devils.
Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh nearly won it 23 seconds into overtime, but Devils defenseman Andy Greene tied up his stick with the puck sitting near the goal line. Seconds before Stempniak won it on a 2-on-1 rush, Rangers center Derek Stepan rang a shot off the crossbar.
This was the Rangers' first foray into 3-on-3 overtime.
Center Adam Henrique also scored his third goal for the Devils, who received 26 saves from goaltender Cory Schneider.
Stepan scored his third goal of the season while goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has started all six games for his team this season, made 22 saves.
The Rangers wasted little time jumping to a 1-0 lead. An odd-man rush allowed left winger Oscar Lindberg to hit Stepan with a cross-ice pass. A streaking Stepan backhanded the puck between Schneider's legs 3:12 into the first period to give the Rangers an early advantage.
Henrique knotted the game at 1 early in the second period. Devils defenseman Damon Severson forced a turnover at the attacking blue line, allowing left winger Michael Cammalleri to move the puck to Henrique. Lundqvist made the initial save, but Henrique jammed the rebound home at 1:52.
There were just four minor penalties called in the game. Two were called against the Rangers in a span of 25 seconds between the second and third periods. Despite having a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:35, the Devils never registered a shot on goal.
NOTES: Devils C Travis Zajac was back in the lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury. He replaced LW Tuomo Ruutu, who was out with an undisclosed ailment. ... Devils D Jon Merrill (illness) was replaced by D Eric Gelinas. ... Devils RW Brian O'Neill was scratched. ... Rangers RW Emerson Etem was out of the lineup after making his team debut Thursday. He has played in just one of six games this season. ... The Rangers also scratched D Dylan McIlrath and LW Tanner Glass.