The New York Rangers won big in their season opener, but they lost a key piece along the way.
The Rangers defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 Thursday night, but lost veteran defenseman Dan Boyle to a broken hand in the victory.
Boyle, a puck-moving defenseman, left the game in the early third period after blocking a shot, and did not return. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.
The game saw Rick Nash - the center of much fan consternation last season after coming over from Columbus - have a big game and score the eventual winner with 1:50 remaining.
Nash has a history of success against the Blues. He has 23 goals and 43 points in 51 regular-season games.
''I didn't know I had success against them,'' said Nash. ''It seems like it is one of the toughest places to play. Being in Columbus so long, it was such a tough building to come into and have success. Too bad we don't play them more.''
Chris Kreider had a breakaway goal and an assist, and Martin St. Louis had a pair of assists as well. King Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves, and young upstart Anthony Duclair made his NHL debut.
''It's not easy to come in here and beat this team,'' Lundqvist said. ''They are always good at home. Physical team. Smart team. They made a couple of mistakes in their own end which we took advantage of. They kept coming hard in the third but we responded pretty well.''
Nash scored the game-winner off a slick behind-the-back pass from St. Louis in front of the net.
''I saw it right away, saw it hit the glass seam and fire back,'' Nash said. ''I was yelling at Marty that it stayed in the zone. It was unbelievable. It was a great play by him.''
The Rangers are, no doubt, happy to have won the game, but Boyle's absence will be difficult to deal with.
