It was the only goal the Rangers would need as they beat the Canadiens 2-0 with Game 2 slated for the Bell Centre Friday night (7 p.m., CBC, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690).
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“You let Lundqvist see the puck, I don’t care who [shoots], he’s going to stop it”, Don Cherry said Wednesday.
Going into the playoffs, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist leads all active National Hockey League goaltenders in playoff appearances (116) and playoff wins (55), and he is tied for first among active goaltenders in playoff shutouts (nine). “You got to give that team credit, they played pretty well”. San Jose fired 34 shots at Cam Talbot over the final two periods plus 3:22 of overtime before Melker Karlsson blew the victor by the Oilers goalie.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night at Bell Centre. But his performance in Game 1, while surprisingly the difference maker for the Rangers, should not be guarantee him a position in this lineup – his limited offensive capabilities have already been well established throughout his entire career.
NY won the first game of the series on Wednesday, 2-0.
A lot of credit also goes to the Rangers defensemen tonight, particularly Brendan Smith, Brady Skjei, and Ryan McDonagh who carried a majority of the play on the backend. In game one neither team was able to take advantage of their opportunities on the powerplay.
What stands out most is that the Rangers, known as the fancy fast-skating team, not only stood nose-to-nose with the Canadiens, they initiated much of the physical play, and did so largely in smart fashion.
Even though Mike Yeo’s team now has the early advantage in the series they’re the team that needs to make more adjustments.
A 31-save shutout on Wednesday night further added to a playoff resume that includes a.922 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average.
The New York Rangers certainly didn’t play the last month of the season the way they started the 2016-17 campaign. Atlantic Division champion Montreal won all three meetings this season against the Rangers, including both games at Madison Square Garden. “He was under control, he moved the puck as good as he’s been since he’s been with us, and that’s the type of hockey we need from him”. Blue Jackets rookie D Zach Werenski, playing his first game in 10 days after suffering a shoulder injury, led Columbus with 12 shot attempts (6 SOG) in a 3-1 Game One loss at Pittsburgh… “At the end of a year ago we could walk away and say we were a hard team to play against”, Hynes said. You want to get ready to play.
The Rangers went 8-9-4 the final quarter of the season. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday, but coach Claude Julien said: “We’re very optimistic he’ll be OK”. Even more troublesome is that the offense, which has impressed all season, is the aspect of their play that was changed, rather than the defensive strategy which has been overwhelmingly disappointing. This time, Kreider pulled up when barreling toward Price in the first period.
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Emelin is to sit out a second game but Julien said he may make the trip to NY for the third and fourth games.
