The New York Rangers headed into game two with about as much momentum as any team could want. It almost felt like too momentum for Alain Vigneault’s Rangers. They just obliterated the Canadiens at home in a 7-2 trouncing. Their biggest threat was goaltender Carey Price, who ended up injured from a collision with Chris Kreider. That sort of momentum is the sort of thing that has a tendency to be difficult to hold onto. You just gave the opposing team a reason to hate you, and after Montreal dealt with a difficult series against the Boston Bruins where hate was in unlimited supply, it didn’t seem like a good thing for the Rangers to run up the score on two different Canadiens goaltenders. Check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert for any updates on the status of Price.
Montreal Canadiens fans were desperate for some good news. With Carey Price out of the playoffs, the team went to aging prospect Dustin Tokarski, who had not played in over a month and didn’t even play as many games as he should have for the Hamilton Bulldogs due to questionable head coach Sylvain Lefevbre. It was Michel Therrien’s hail mary attempt at something for the team to rally around.
“Win it for Carey” ran across the city and all through social media, fans hoping that what looked to be the team of destiny in the NHL playoffs could turn around what was looking to be a Swedish brick wall in their way. As the CBC Hockey Night in Canada opening played Hamilton native’s the Arkell’s new song “Come to Light”, the fans hoped for there to be some form of light in the series.
ECF Game 2
The Montreal Canadiens brought the light immediately, or at least enough friction to eventually start a fire. The top line proved that their only problem for scoring chances in the previous series was that the Boston Bruins had a stifling defensive game set against their top lines. The Rangers may have had Ryan McDonaugh and Dan Girardi, but their team defensive is a good rung or two lower on the ladder than the President’s Trophy champs. If anyone was going to stop the relentless attack of Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher and David Desharnais, it would have to be Henrik Lundqvist. And at 6:14, Lundqvist faltered on a deflected shot. Montreal went up 1-0 in a playoffs defined by first goal win mentality. The Arkell’s song might have been about relationships in secret, but Coming to Light for the Canadiens would be getting that first goal and trying to stop the momentum the Rangers created in game one.
Except McDonaugh scored 17 seconds after.
It was that goal only 17 seconds after which completely blew a gasket out of the Canadiens game. No, they didn’t give up working to get that goal. Henrik Lundqvist was absolutely beaten down with shots and scoring attempts, making 41 saves for a surprising second star behind McDonaugh. Lundqvist turned away 10 shots on the powerplay alone, showing the young Tokarski what a real goaltender looks like. It’s too bad for Tokarski, who looked rusty on the two goals he allowed. The Rangers had a 3-1 stranglehold before the halfway mark of the game and rode that to the win and a crippling two game lead.
For many, the focus is on the loss of Carey Price and what the Canadiens could do to combat it. There will be many questioning Therrien’s choice of Tokarski over Budaj and the implications of such a decision. But what’s more important is that the Canadiens did do some things right. They added Alex Galchenyuk to the lineup, who played great in his first game back from injury. The Canadiens stopped playing the Rangers like the Bruins and finally started pinching when the puck was 10 feet away. Too often in game one, defencemen like Mike Weaver would fall back if the puck was only a couple feet away and hope to box in the Rangers when they rushed the puck. It’s a huge reason why the Rangers speed burned the Habs so many times in the game prior. The Canadiens hammered the Rangers with shots and scoring chances, but in the end, the King reigned in Montreal.
It’s a disappointing fact to swallow for Montreal. The biggest advantage in the Boston Bruins series was that they just seemed to have Tuukka Rask’s number. Coming into this series, Henrik Lundqvist had not won in the Bell Centre for years. But Montreal never faced Lundqvist in the playoffs during that time either. For all of the pressure Montreal would have for being the only Canadian team in the playoffs and trying to prove their critics wrong, there’s even more pressure on Henrik. Lundqvist has been known as one of the most consistent and reliable players in the NHL, especially between the pipes. But “The King Has No Ring” is a common criticism of the handsome former Vezina trophy winner. After allowing four against the Penguins on May 7, Lundqvist has 168 shots in five games and only allowed six goals in that span. At 32 years old, nobody wants to prove critics wrong in this post-season more than Henrik. Not even the Montreal Canadiens.
Losing Carey Price is the sort of thing that is a shot to the gut for the Habs, but even if Carey Price was in that net playing spectacular, the Canadiens would have had to hope for a 1-0 victory. Henrik was near perfect. There isn’t a single person who would blame Price for the 1-0 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins which came in overtime (most blame would be for Douglas Murray). But that’s the kind of performance it would have taken to stop the Rangers on Monday night. It’s an unrealistic expectation. One could talk momentum but it’s all about the bounces. Pacioretty’s goal came from pure, uncut pressure by the top line and a lucky bounce. Montreal got one lucky bounce. Carey Price wasn’t going to create more out of the ether just because he was playing in net.
Both teams have two nights off before heading into Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. The Rangers stand tall with a 2-0, one of the most unlikely choices for the Stanley Cup finals. There isn’t much hope in Hab land anymore with Carey Price sidelined and the Canadiens unable to break open Henrik Lundqvist. For Habs fans, they are hoping for a little karma. Years back, the Rangers had an impressive comeback against the Canadiens in the regular season. Only a few weeks later, the Canadiens handed it back to New York with an impressive comeback of their own. It’s one of the best remembered games by the Canadiens in the last 10 years. Going into New York with a 2-0 lead could be their moment of doubt the same way it was for the New York Rangers back in 1996. They sat with two losses, only to rage back and break the Canadiens in four straight games for a six game playoff victory. It’s unlikely to come to light, but that’s the only hope Montreal has left for this. Montreal isn’t just going to Broadway, they are going to Wall Street. And the price of scoring is inflated beyond approach.
photo credit: bridgetds via photopin cc
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