Vaclav Nedomansky is a fan of New York Rangers Coach Herb Brooks' circular motion system and Brooks considers Nedomansky a premier power-play threat.
Fittingly, Nedomansky made the most of his reunion with the Rangers Friday night. Nedomansky's fourth goal of the season was the game-winner in the Rangers' 5-1 rout of the Quebec Nordiques in New York.
Nedomansky, a 38-year-old forward, started the season with New York and scored a power-play goal in the season opener. He was then claimed on waivers by St. Louis but returned to New York in a trade Wednesday.
Nedomansky's power-play goal at 5:55 of the second period gave New York a 2-0 lead Friday night. Don Maloney also had a goal and assist and Mike Rogers and Reijo Ruotsalainen added two assists each for the Rangers, who are 4-0-1 in their last five games.
'Ned hasn't played a lot for awhile and he didn't have his legs or timing,' Brooks said of Nedomansky, who saw little ice time in St. Louis. 'But he can be a dominant force on the power-play. He can really turn the puck loose.'
Nedomansky, who said he was 'very close' to not reporting to the Blues, saw Wednesday's trade as a reprieve.
'I liked what we were doing here (in training camp) and I wasn't counting on playing on another team,' Nedomansky said. 'I was surprised to play tonight. I was very nervous. I'd like to work on my game and pick it up as fast as possible.'
New York outshot the Nordiques 31-23 Friday and held the Stastny brothers scoreless.
'When you get a lead by two or three goals, you relax and play easy. That's what they did,' Peter Stastny said.
Quebec's only goal came on Wilf Paiement's power-play score to pull to within 2-1 at 7:24 of the second period. The Rangers, who took a 1-0 lead on Maloney's 21st goal at 8:59 of the first period, got insurance goals from Mikko Leinonen, Robbie Ftorek and Chris Kontos in the third period.
In other games, New Jersey and Boston tied 2-2, Buffalo and Vancouver skated to a 5-5 tie and Edmonton clubbed Pittsburgh 7-2. Devils 2, Bruins 2 At East Rutherford, N.J., Ray Bourque scored on a 40-foot slapshot with 3:11 remaining to lift Boston into a tie. Bob MacMillan and Dave Cameron scored first-period goals to give New Jersey a 2-0 advantage, but Keith Crowder notched his 18th goal of the season at 1:43 of the third period to draw the Bruins within 2-1. Boston outshot the Devils 15-0 in the final period. Sabres 5, Canucks 5 At Buffalo, N.Y., Tony McKegney scored two goals and set up Phil Housley's score with three seconds remaining to pull Buffalo into a tie. McKegney's second goal put the Sabres ahead 4-3 with 5:37 remaining but Vancouver took a 5-4 lead on goals by Thomas Gradin and Dave Williams 33 seconds apart. Oilers 7, Penguins 2 At Edmonton, Alberta, Glenn Anderson scored three goals and Wayne Gretzky got two as the Oilers breezed to their ninth win in their last 11 games, moving them past Philadelphia into third place in the league's overall standings.
