Another marquee matchup of the NHL’s elite goaltenders was witnessed at madison Square Garden Wednesday night.
The New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist took to the ice versus the rival Montreal Canadiens’ netminder and reigning Viezina Trophy winner from last season Carey Price.
It was a battle of top Eastern Conference powers that were vying for first place.
The Rangers entered with tied with the Canadiens in points (34) and almost identical records.
From the start of the game, Montreal started imposing their will on the Rangers defense, making things difficult with their fast moving puck possession and quick skates.
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Their up-tempo play was rewarded with a first period goal, giving them the first lead of the game.
The Rangers had difficulty sustaining any type of offensive pressure in the Canadiens defensive zone, making Price’s job easy.
Montreal would double their lead in the second period off a goal from an open Devante Smith-Pelly at the top of the crease, who just came off the bench.
All game, the Rangers defense in front of Lundqvist looked out of it, not protecting the area in front, allowing the Canadiens to sneak between the Rangers. It was an annoying fact of their play, and assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson needed to address that with his defensemen.
After the half-way point of the period, the Rangers seemed to have enough and started playing their style.
Opportunities around Price were had, shooting at every sharp angle they could.
Finally, the captain Ryan McDonagh got New York on the board when he ripped a shot from the back end. His shot bounced off Rick Nash, who provided a screen in front of Price. On their fourth man-advantage of the game, the third of the period, he scored a power goal injecting life in the team and giving the crowd something to cheer about.
Good net-front presence by Nash and a buzzing Mats Zuccarello made the goal possible, and things appeared to get a little interesting heading into the last 20 minutes of regulation.
To start the third period, Price was replaced by backup goaltender Mike Condon due to a possible second period injury.
Carey Price leaves with apparent right leg injury vs. Rangers https://t.co/R0xnLA6maJ pic.twitter.com/Lm29ewApQI
— theScore NHL (@theScoreNHL) November 26, 2015
Despite their key netminder out of the game, the Canadiens train kept rolling, scoring three goals, and chasing Lundqvist out of the Rangers net.
Now in goal for the #NYR is Antti Raanta..Henrik allowed 5 goals on 24 shots
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 26, 2015
It was the story for the Rangers. They did not look good, especially on the defensive side where they played a lackadaisical game, uncharacteristic of a top five defensive team in the NHL this season.
The team was sloppy when they had the puck, giving it away (18) times to Montreal.
Give the Canadiens credit, they played aggressive with and without the puck, quicker on the ice, and gave the Rangers no room to maneuver.
Next: New York Rangers Weekly Report
New York will head into Thanksgiving with a sour taste in their mouth, going winless in two games against Montreal.
The Rangers will play next on Black Friday against the Boston Bruins. Hopefully, the effects of this loss combined with turkey dinner does not linger into another lazy effort.