Road teams are dominating the second round of the NHL playoffs. Of course if you're the New York Rangers, it doesn't matter where you play.
"Things are going well, there's no denying it," New York's Craig MacTavish said following a 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. "Every athlete wants to play on a team that's on this type of roll. I'm not naive enough to take it for granted."The Rangers' victory at Landover, Md., put them on the verge of a second straight sweep, which they can complete in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Saturday.
During their club-record 7-0 streak against the New York Islanders and Capitals, the Rangers outscored the opposition 36-8.
While the Rangers moved within one game of the Eastern Conference finals, the New Jersey Devils climbed back into their series with a 4-2 victory over Boston. The Bruins had won the first two games in New Jersey before returning home for Game 3.
Of the first 10 second-round games, road teams have won seven.
The playoffs continue tonight with the Western Conference semifinals as Toronto visits San Jose after a split, and Vancouver hosts Dallas after winning the first two on the road.
Rangers 3, Capitals 0
The Rangers' latest victory was the third shutout in seven games for Mike Richter, who is one short of matching the NHL record for one playoff year.
Brian Leetch, Mark Messier and Steve Larmer scored for the Rangers, who've won every postseason game by at least three goals.
Devils 4, Bruins 2
The Devils switched goalies and turned around the momentum in their playoff battle with Boston.
Chris Terreri made 25 saves in his first playoff start this season, and Tom Chorske scored twice as the Devils cut the Bruins' lead to 2-1 in the best-of-7 series.
Jim Dowd and Tommy Albelin also scored for the Devils, who can tie the series when it continues Saturday night with Game 4 in Boston.
Mariusz Czerkawski and Al Iafrate scored for Boston, which has a 2-3 record at home during the playoffs.
Terreri was not challenged often by the Bruins, who for the third straight game seemed to lack the intensity they displayed in the first round against Montreal.
"Chris, the veteran, came in and gave us the lift we needed," New Jersey defenseman Ken Daneyko said. "He had some spark."