Deja Vu As New York Rangers Down Montreal Canadiens 5-0 At Home
Right at puck drop, the Rangers were able to apply pressure in the offensive zone. This kept the Canadiens in check and not allow their up-tempo offense to take flight. The first penalty of the game went to the Habs, as Andrei Markov was sent to the box for tripping Martin St. Louis. Unfortunately, the Rangers were unable to take advantage of the penalty despite good puck movement. As the period went on, both teams started finding their legs. After a brilliant stop by Dan Girardi on a possible scoring chance for the Canadiens, the Rangers come back and put the first goal up on the board compliments of Dominic Moore (1) crashing the net. Assists were credited to Tanner Glass (1) and Jesper Fast (1). The first sign of trouble for the Rangers occurred around the seven minute mark. The Habs were able to contain the puck in their offensive zone and put the Rangers on their heels. Henrik Lundqvist had some trouble handling the puck, but went unscathed. At 3:20 of the period, Dan Girardi was called for hooking, pulling down David Desharnais towards the net. As result, the Canadiens received their first power play of the game. After a couple of short-handed opportunities by the Rangers, the penalty proved to be a non-factor. As the buzzer sounded, the team had to feel good about its performance this period. For much of the 20 minutes, the Rangers were able to play faster and sustain pressure on the Canadiens. The period ended with the Rangers outshooting the Habs, 12 to 11.
As the second period started, the Rangers were looking to stay on top of things and not allow things to get out of hand. With less than a minute into the period, the Rangers got their second of the game. Derek Stepan (2) wristed a shot top-shelf off a backhand feed from St. Louis (9). The secondary assist was credited to Chris Kreider (7) who started the rush with a Canadiens turnover. The Rangers received a second power play after a tripping call on Canadiens forward Manny Malhotra on Marc Staal. Rick Nash almost got his 14th of the season while on the power play when drove strong to the goal from behind the net. Even though the team didn’t score, the Rangers were still able to control the puck and pace of play. For a majority of the period, it was all Rangers. When the Canadiens were able to get in the offensive zone, it was short-lived. The epitome of how the team was playing was witnessed when Kreider backed up his way into an oncoming P.K. Subban, putting the Canadiens defender on the ice. The Rangers attitude was no nonsense and weren’t having anything to do with the Canadiens. OH MY GOSH!!! St. Louis took advantage of a bad turnover in the Canadiens own zone. Habs defenseman Alexi Emelin missed a puck and St. Louis stomped on the play. Backhand, forehand, top shelf cheese. With that goal, St. Louis scored his eighth of the season, with assists credited to Kreider (8) and John Moore (3). At the 2:29 mark of the period, offsetting penalties were called on Nash and Canadiens Tomas Plekanec for cross-checking. No harm, no foul for both teams. The period ended with the Rangers dominating the pace of play. They outshot the Canadiens by a big margin: 14 to 5.
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With 20 minutes left, the question was: would the Rangers be able to close the deal? At the 18:20n mark of the third period, the Rangers attack continued. Carl Hagelin (5) tucked in a pass from Anthony Duclair (6) and Kevin Hayes (4). That was two points in two games against the Canadiens for the Rangers prospect this season. Former Rangers player Brandon Prust crashed into Lundqvist after playing the puck. It appeared to be unintentional and more of two bodies crashing into one another to make a play on the puck. Kevin Klein took exception and the both had a dance. Once the dust settled, Prust and Klein were awarded matching penalties for fighting. Later in the period, Duclair and Subban were awarded penalties for cross checking and slashing, two minutes each. It was a shooting gallery on Dustin Tokarski, as the Rangers came wave after wave at the young Canadiens goaltender. With a little over seven minutes left in the game, Nash (14) scores on a backhand shot. A sweet feed from Derick Brassard (10) pushed the play up ice. A secondary assist was credited to Mats Zuccarello for his sixth of the season. As time expired, the Rangers wound up with a convincing win over a Eastern Conference power in the Canadiens. The Blueshirts outshot their opponent, 8-5 for the period, 34-21 for the game. Dominating, dominating, and DOMINATING!
Next game will be against the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night, 7:30 pm at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.