Rangers thrash Devils in outdoor game at Yankee Stadium

Maybe a little of the legendary Yankee Stadium magic rubbed off on the Rangers.

On a snowy day, down two goals early to the Devils, the Blueshirts turned into The Boys of Winter.

In a record-breaking performance, the Rangers erupted for six unanswered goals Sunday -- four in the second period -- in the first outdoor NHL game in New York City, chasing goalie Martin Brodeur and thrashing their Hudson River rivals, 7-3.

After Patrick Elias scored twice and Travis Zajac once in the opening period against a shaky Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers regrouped in the locker room, having cut their deficit to 3-2 on goals by Dominic Moore and Marc Staal.

"It wasn't like we came in and changed everything," Brad Richards said. "The only thing we talked about was being a little more north-south. We didn't want to be bringing it back, trying to make the perfect play coming into the zone. Get it out, get our feet moving, and when we did that, we caught them a couple times, got some odd-man rushes, and that changed the tempo of the game."

Before 50,105 fans and the colors of the two teams, two goals by Mats Zuccarello in transition and goals by Carl Hagelin and Rick Nash (his 11th in 11 games, at 19:31) gave the Rangers a 6-3 lead.

Using quickness in the neutral zone, "we were able to chip the pucks past them and use our speed," coach Alain Vigneault said. "They outnumber and they swarm. We were fortunate to catch them in between."

And fortunate on a couple of shots. One of Zuccarello's goals went in off his skate. Hagelin's shot deflected off Marek Zidlicky, then off the mask of Brodeur and into the net.

Two key players in the turnaround were the second-pair defensemen, Staal and Anton Stralman. Staal's goal closed the deficit to one with three minutes to go in the first. Stralman had two assists, his first multi-point game of the season, and three hits. Each was plus-4.

"They made strong plays with the puck,'' Vigneault said, "and when they didn't, they made strong physical plays."

"I think we kind of settled in a little bit," said Stralman, whose hit on Andy Greene led to Nash's goal for a 6-3 advantage. "We just took off and found our game and got rewarded. Fighting back from 3-1 was a big thing. It's hard to do."

The Rangers, who were awed by the surroundings, set some outdoor-game records. Their total of seven goals was the highest in the 10 games that have been played, along with their four goals in a period. Twelve players with points and six players with at least a goal were other marks. And Derek Stepan rifled a shot over Cory Schneider's right shoulder at 10:06 of the third period for the first successful penalty shot in outdoor history.

The final three goals of the second period came on three shots against Brodeur. The six goals were the most scored against Brodeur in two years, and it was the first time all season that the Devils pulled their starting goalie.

The Rangers (28-23-3, 59 points) ended a two-game losing streak and gained some experience in frigid conditions before their game against the Islanders at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.

Players from both sides thought the quality of the ice deteriorated and several thought that adjusting to the Stadium atmosphere will help the Rangers on Wednesday.

Vigneault disagreed. "I don't see an advantage for one team or another," he said. "If I'm Long Island, either a player or a coach, I'm going to feed off this first opportunity."