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Rangers take care of business in New Jersey

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From the Associated Press

The New York Rangers rocked the New Jersey Devils’ house like no opponent ever had and advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Rangers trailed for 18 seconds in the first period before scoring four straight times and holding on for a 5-3 victory Friday night that ended the best-of-seven series in five games.

New Jersey’s John Madden was awarded a penalty shot with 7:08 left in the third period after Michal Rozsival dragged him down with a sweeping dive with his stick. Madden couldn’t score the tying goal when his backhander at the right post was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist’s pads.

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Brandon Dubinsky sealed New York’s second straight 5-3 win with an empty-net goal with 59.1 seconds left.

Never had a team won three road games against the Devils in a playoff series, but the Rangers did it in the first season at their new arena, the Prudential Center, in Newark.

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Detroit 2, Nashville 1 (OT) -- Johan Franzen scored on a backhander 1:48 into overtime at Detroit, giving the Red Wings a 3-2 lead over the Predators in their Western Conference first-round series.

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