New York Rangers: 5 Resons They Defeated Montreal in Round 1

Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
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Apr 20, 2017; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) celebrates his goal against Montreal Canadiens with teammates left wing Jimmy Vesey (26) and right wing Kevin Hayes (13) during the second period in game five of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2017; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) celebrates his goal against Montreal Canadiens with teammates left wing Jimmy Vesey (26) and right wing Kevin Hayes (13) during the second period in game five of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Rangers did a lot of things well in the second leg of their first round series against the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens, however, also contributed to the Rangers winning ways.

After being considered the underdog in the series, the New York Rangers won four of six games all-important playoff games against the Montreal Canadiens in their first round matchup.

It was looking a bit bleak for the Rangers, as they got killed in game three (by far their worst game of the series) but they found a way to make adjustments and pull three straight wins out to win the series.

As the team prepares to take on another Canadian team in the Ottawa Senators in the second round of the playoffs beginning on Thursday, let’s look back at the series to find out what the top five reasons were for how the Rangers were able to win the series in six.

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