Rangers clinch series overwhelming Habs 3-1 in Game 6

Photo by: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

New York weren’t going to lose as everything went their way Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers saw forward Mats Zuccarello score two on the night before an empty netter gave them a 3-1 victory and a clinch in Game 6 against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Rangers victory on Thursday at Centre Bell puts them in the best spot to end the series at home. Their first win at MSG on Tuesday allowed them to break a six-game losing streak during the postseason. With just two games to go, both Henrik Lundqvist and recently named Vezina finalist Carey Price would play their hearts out to prevent more than a 60-minute game. Montreal has already won on the road in the series and will do everything to send it back home where a deciding Game Seven could be on the horizon.

Montreal took off with the puck into the Rangers end but dealt with adversity as the defensive coverage in front of Lundqvist. They recorded two shots and stopped the Rangers from getting one after five minutes of play. Things got physical between the teams as Jimmy Vesey crashed into the boards with Habs captain Max Pacioretty while Alexander Radulov showered the New York goaltender in front of the crease. He got into a scuffle with Ryan McDonagh but staved off a penalty.

Pacioretty and Vesey through down where it ended with a massive applause from the fans. While the two settled into the box for fighting majors, the Canadiens were looking for something to come together and change up the journey. With some serious effort to get the puck loose, Radulov delivered it to the far end where a one-timer from Alexei Emelin gave him his first of the series hitting top shelf.

The Canadiens were dominating on the shots to the net pushing their offense to increase the margin while there was time on the clock. Their physical strength remained consistent against the Rangers who were finding time with the puck nearly getting a couple in net. McDonagh almost had the tying goal but it went off the shaft of Price’s stick. More came from New York but not the one to level the playing field at the end of the period. Montreal outshot the Rangers 11-6 and recorded 12 of 26 hits combined by the teams.

The Rangers knew they had to bring something better going into the second period and getting their first power play was huge for them despite having trouble scoring in the man advantage. With a lot of fight from their unit they got on the board scoring on a lucky shot from Zuccarello that beat Price through a small window that handed him his second. It was now even but the confidence boost had New York dictating a majority of the period wanting that second goal.

The Canadiens didn’t give up any more power plays and pushed their offense to try and get back out front. They found themselves struggling and paid the price for it with another goal to Zuccarello’s name. They had the lead at the most critical time but defense was now their mission to hold together until time could expire.

Lundqvist was performing at an incredible rate stopping some big shots from Montreal. One that impressed many was his glove save on a rifled shot from Shea Weber where he jumbled the puck but still held onto it. The period came to a close with the Rangers outshooting the Habs 12-9 while edging them on the faceoff as well as the scoreboard.

New York had an agenda going into the third holding back the Canadiens while pushing their way to force Price to give up another one. They managed just three shots through seven minutes counting on their netminder to be at his best against the Habs. While Lundqvist continued to frustrate the Canadiens, time was quickly falling off the clock that moved them closer to victory.

Montreal was clearly desperate to tie the game and force OT but their force had to increase than where it stood with four minutes to go. The Rangers were blocking shots from Montreal that led them to go to another gear with 1:33 left in the game. Price came off the ice giving his team six attackers but despite all their scoring chances, both the New York defense and Lundqvist had their eyes on the prize.

The Habs took a timeout with 1:17 left in the third hoping that they could put something together to save their season. It all came falling apart as everything they brought was shoved away leading to another scoring moment. Derek Stepan got a piece of it before watching it slide down the ice and into the empty net bringing the series to a close for Montreal.