In a game that was choppy and uneven most of the night, the Rangers did just enough to eke out a 3-2 overtime win Sunday against Montreal. The victory leaves New York one win of heading to the Stanley Cup Finals since that magical 1994 season. There is still a long way to go and lot of work to be done, but the Rangers now sit on the precipice of doing something that seemed unfathomable for us to discuss just two weeks ago.
Game Highlights:
Some thoughts from me on the win:
First and foremost, Happy Memorial Day. Thanks to those who lost their lives and those who give theirs serving to protect the freedom each one of us enjoy. Your sacrifice is not forgotten.
Penalty Kill. The SNY Rangersblog posted the following stats:
The Rangers were 7 for 8 on the PK in game four against the Canadiens and allowed 21 shot attempts, 14 that missed the net or were on goal and 8 that were on goal.
The Rangers who killed penalties in game four were Dan Girardi (7:38 short handed) Anton Stralman (6:54), Marc Staal (6:54), Brian Boyle (7:17), Martin St. Louis (4:21), Ryan McDonagh (7:38), Dominic Moore (5:20), Mats Zuccarello (2:11), Rick Nash (1:58) and Carl Hagelin (7:59)
You can't keep living in the box and expect to win nightly. On the eight penalties that were called that gave Montreal the man-advantage, it's hard to argue on any of them. Of course, taking seven of those eight in the offensive zone, including two by Benoit Pouliot, the last of which came 30 seconds into overtime on a stupid holding the stick penalty, is not a recipe for sustained success. During the regular season, the Rangers had the fewest penalties of any team in the NHL. We need to more of that team and not the one that paraded to the box Sunday, leading to the uneven game with minimal flow Sunday. That said, if the Rangers can continue to kill penalties off at the clip they have, maybe you can live in the box, but I would prefer not to find out.
Embellishment. I seem to have heard the term but don't know what it is since it has gone out the window in this series.
Brian Boyle. Third most minutes on the penalty kill yesterday and 2:15 per game this post-season. A huge assists on the stretch pass to Carl Hagelin for the goal. Wins face-offs at a 54.3% clip. Blocks shots. Steps his game up for the playoffs. I know lots of people were critical of him in the regular season, but his $1.7 million salary looks like a bargain right now. I hope the Rangers re-sign him or they will again be looking for someone to fill that role, as they have for several others like Fedetenko, etc. the past few years.
Hagelin. Speed kills. Hagelin has blazing speed, especially going from a stand-still to full gallop. In addition, he is using that speed on the forecheck, as he did last night to set up the game-winner. Hags has six goals this post-season and how many of us expected that when the playoffs began?
St. Louis. Clearly gives the Rangers a dimension they lacked, that of a sniper who cane turn around a game in an instant. My favorite quote from him is that "champions are made when no one is looking." He spends hours on shooting on his open with no one looking, which paid off handsomely Sunday. You have to like that he was willing to "trust what he saw," after getting robbed by Dustin Tokarski on stunning glove save in the second period. St. Louis picked a spot, top-shelf over the shoulder and that's all she wrote.
Henrik Lundqvist. Came up big when he had to. His biggest save might have been the right pad save on Brian Gionta after he stopped a Tomas Plekenac shot in the first period with the score 1-0 Rangers. I have seen some say he should have stopped Francis Bouillon's shot on the 2-on-1 following a poor read and chase by Anton Stralman. Lundqvist got a piece of the piece, which was rolling, and could have challenged a bit more, but not an egregious goal to allow. The game-tying marker was a blast from P.K. Subban that was tipped by Brendan Gallagher and changed directions very late. Granted, he got a bit lucky when Alex Galchenyuk's shot hit off Ryan McDonagh's stick, then Lundqvist and deflected off the crossbar with a bit more than three minutes left in the third. But he made 27 saves and tied Mike Richter for more playoff wins by a Rangers goaltender with 41.
The blueline. So-so overall. Poor read and play by Stralman led to a goal. Dan Girardi, other than brilliant stretch pass to Derick Brassard, was subpar in my opinion. The best defenseman was Kevin Klein. Pinched to generate offense, solid in own zone, noticeable when he needed to be. Overall, a solid small trade made by GM Glen Sather that solidified the defense.
Games 3 and 4 showed that Montreal took their game up to another level. Game 5 will be more of the same, as they are like New York last round, trying to avoid a series loss. The Rangers have to try and match or exceed that effort, which was't the case all the time the past two games
The numbers seem to lean in favor of the Rangers. The Blueshirts have won six of their last seven playoff games and are 12-1 in playoff series in which they've led 3-1. Overall, 64 teams have taken a 3-1 lead in the conference finals or Cup Final; 63 have won. Only the Devils, in 2000 over Philadelphia, have rallied. But as saw last round with New York, history is made to be broken
Find a way to close out the series and then we can start to think about the next round.
Let's Go Rangers!!!
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