Kreider scores tiebreaking goal in 2nd period as Rangers beat Red Wings 4-1

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Kreider scored the go-ahead goal on the power play late in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Monday night.

Kreider tipped Mika Zibanejad's shot with 2:55 left in the middle period to snap a 1-1 tie after the teams traded goals in the first. Alexis Lafreniere, Reilly Smith and Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 31 saves.

Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit with 2 seconds left in the first after Lafrieniere opened the scoring for the Rangers with 8:15 to go. Alex Lyon had 24 saves for the Red Wings in his first start of the season.

The Red Wings were playing their first road game. They beat Nashville 3-0 on Saturday after losing their season opener 6-3 to Pittsburgh.

Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, who played 19 games for New York after a heralded trade late in the 2022-23 season, received polite applause from the Madison Square Garden crowd during his first game back with Detroit. Kane assisted on Larkin’s goal for his 814th career assist to pass Mike Modano for second-most among U.S.-born players.

Rangers forward Artemi Panarin, who led with the team with 120 points last season, had three assists and has a team-best seven points — including two goals — in three games.

Shesterkin denied Detroit’s J.T. Compher from in close with 1:58 left in the second period to keep it 2-1. Smith padded the lead at 4:51 of the third, his first goal with the Rangers.

Kreider’s goal was the 307th of his career — third-most in Rangers history behind Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle. It was his 111th power-play goal, second-most in franchise history behind Camille Henry’s 116.

The Rangers visit Detroit on Thursday to complete a home-and-home series.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Detroit Red Wings center Tyler Motte (14) plays the puck against New York Rangers center Adam Edstrom (84) during the second period of a hockey game, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Detroit Red Wings center Tyler Motte (14) and New York Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) battle or the puck during the first period of a hockey game, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin makes a save against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot during the first period of a hockey game, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin makes a glove save against the Detroit Red Wings during the second period of a hockey game, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period of a hockey game, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider scores a goal against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon (34) during the second period of a hockey game, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency Friday, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor's total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump's far-reaching first term, when he filled three seats on the Supreme Court.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., teed up votes Friday on two California district judges, and they will be the last judicial confirmations this year before Congress adjourns and makes way for a new, Republican-led Senate.

The confirmation of Serena Raquel Murillo to be a district judge for the Central District of California broke Trump's mark. The tally also marks the largest number of confirmations in a single term since Jimmy Carter administration. Come next year, Republicans will look to boost Trump's already considerable influence on the makeup of the federal judiciary in his second term.

Biden and Senate Democrats placed particular focus on adding women, minorities and public defenders to the judicial rank. About two-thirds of Biden's appointees are women and a solid majority of appointees are people of color. The most notable appointee was Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

“When I ran for President, I promised to build a bench that looks like America and reflects the promise of our nation. And I’m proud I kept my commitment to bolstering confidence in judicial decision-making and outcomes,” Biden said in a statement.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that prior to the Democrats' efforts, the number of women on the bench had been diminished, and it was made up overwhelmingly of white males.

“We consciously moved forward to bring more women to the bench, and believe me, we had a great talent pool to work with," Durbin said. "So I think it’ll enhance the image of the court and its work product to bring these new judges on.”

Biden also placed an emphasis on bringing more civil rights lawyers, public defenders and labor rights lawyers to expand the professional backgrounds of the federal judiciary. More than 45 appointees are public defenders and more than two dozen served as civil rights lawyers.

While Biden did get more district judges confirmed than Trump, he had fewer higher-tier circuit court appointments than Trump — 45 compared to 54 for Trump. And he got one Supreme Court appointment compared with three for Trump. Republicans, much to Democrats' frustration, filled Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the court the week before the 2020 presidential election. Ginsburg had passed away in September.

Democrats also faced the challenge of confirming nominees during two years of a 50-50 Senate. Rarely a week went by in the current Congress when Schumer did not tee up votes on judicial confirmations as liberal groups urged Democrats to show the same kind of urgency on judges that Republicans exhibited under Trump.

Some Senate Republicans were harshly critical of Biden's choices. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said talk of diversity did not extend to the views of the nominees.

"One of the consequences of the age of Trump is that it drove Democrats insane and it drove them to the extreme left, so they put people on the bench who were selected because they were extreme partisans,” Cruz said.

Liberal-leaning advocacy groups said they are delighted with the number of judges Democrats secured, but even more so with the quality of the nominees. They said diversity in personal and professional backgrounds improves judicial decision-making, helps build public trust and inspires people from all walks of life to pursue legal careers.

“For our federal judiciary to actually deliver equal justice for all, it really has to be for all, and that is one reason why we certainly applaud this administration for prioritizing both professional but also demographic diversity,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Democrats showed newfound resolve on judicial confirmations.

“They learned a lesson from the first Trump administration,” Grassley said. “Paying attention to the number of judges you get and the type of judges you put on the court is worth it.”

Part of the urgency from Democrats came as they watched the nation's highest court overturn abortion protections, eliminate affirmative action in higher education and weaken the federal government's ability to protect the environment, public health and workplace safety through regulations. The cases showed that the balance of power in Washington extends to the judicial branch.

Schumer was jubilant after the vote, saying that one out of four active judges has been appointed under Biden. He said that when it came to judicial nominees, Democrats “cast a wider net” than what he referred to as a “privileged pool.”

“I'm very proud of this milestone, not because the number alone, but because of what the number means,” Schumer said. “It means our bench is now far more balanced in its experiences, expertise and qualifications than four years ago."

Trump will inherit nearly three dozen judicial vacancies, but that number is expected to rise because of Republican-appointed judges who held off on retirement in hopes that a Republican would return to office and pick their replacements.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., acknowledged that the sense of accomplishment for Democrats is muted somewhat knowing that Trump will have another term to continue shaping the federal judiciary.

“I’m not ready to uncork the champagne just because we’ve done some really good work over the last four years," Blumenthal said. "We need to be prepared to work, hope for the best and try to defeat nominees who are simply unqualified. We have our work cut out for us. The prospects ahead are sobering.”

Grassley promised that he'll work to best Biden's number.

“Let me assure you, by January 20th of 2029, Trump will be bragging about getting 240 judges," Grassley said.

President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the Department of Labor in Washington, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)