NEW YORK (AP) – Kevin Hayes broke a scoreless deadlock 3:00 into the third period, Cam Talbot made 21 saves, and the New York Rangers hung on to beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Derick Brassard forced a turnover by defenseman Dennis Wideman in the Calgary zone and made a pass from the left circle to the right circle to Hayes, who snapped in his 12th goal in his first game since cutting his long hair.
It was Hayes’ fifth goal in eight games.
Talbot earned his fourth shutout this season and seventh in his NHL career. He improved to 7-1-2 in place of injured No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and helped New York win for the 10th time in 13 games (10-1-2).
The Rangers did it without leading scorer Rick Nash (neck spasms), who missed his first game of the season. New York didn’t yield a power play.