Rangers take 3-2 series lead in overtime upset against Canadiens

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

A very tight game ended with the Rangers taking an important one out of Centre Bell Thursday night. The overtime game winner scored by Mika Zibanejad helped New York win 3-2 and take a 3-2 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Rangers victory on Tuesday at home allowed them to level the series with Game 5 most critical for both teams. Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin returns since being on injured reserve for the duration of the playoffs so far. He becomes another factor that increases the Habs physical play against the Rangers. It would also become a larger obstacle for the Rangers who have struggled on the power play going 0-12 in the postseason. With the series moving north of the border, Montreal carries the advantage where the winner of the game has a high chance of winning their way to the next round.

The Rangers took their first shot on net that began as a two on one with Mats Zuccarello firing a shot that Carey Price barely stopped. The Canadiens went into the Rangers zone with a similar offense that Henrik Lundqvist dealt with fighting through traffic and second opportunities on the puck. While the defense was clearly working, New York was tested early with a power play but again couldn’t convert one while a man up.

Getting beyond the halfway mark, the teams started to heat up on the hits to one another. During a play that ended near the net, Montreal’s Andrew Shaw and New York’s Brendan Smith got into a scuffle that soon led to punches thrown at one another. The leverage went to the Rangers defenseman who got plenty of Shaw but the game resumed on even strength.  It saw the Canadiens taking their offense to the next level for their teammate where the shots got serious while in reach of the net. A second chance for the Habs arrived for Artturi Lehkonen for his second of the postseason.

The momentum was with Montreal going forward as they earned a power play that made them dangerous in the Rangers zone. They began to foil the Rangers goaltender where they nearly had a loose puck chance at one point. A huge break came for New York while still shorthanded where they gained the puck easily running it into the Habs zone. Zibanejad took off with possession and hooked up with Jesper Fast to give him his second as well.

Just when it looked as if the tide had been turned, the Canadiens took a long snapshot from Brendan Gallagher who took a chance through traffic to score his first of the series to regain the lead in the process. Montreal increased their shots to the net but the chances weren’t as strong in the final minutes. They outshot the Rangers 16-9 while winning two of every three on the faceoff.

The Canadiens opened the second with a heavy advantage for the opening minutes of the period. New York handed them back to back power plays that nearly had them scoring on each chance with the man advantage. Lundqvist was the last line of defense and handled the pressure of the near four-minute penalty to stop them from getting any more goals. After getting out of trouble, the Rangers began to record shots at Price but were still trailing the level of play on the ice.

They got close in the late stages showing their intent to make this game once again. Giving it all they had, the Rangers were spending more time in the Montreal zone where Price was feeling the pressure even with a tight defense in front of him. He was unable to keep the consistency of his team in front of him as an effort from the Rangers line produced a tying goal. Getting credit for the goal was Brady Skjei who took the final tap on the puck inside the Montreal crease to pick up his second. The final two minutes left everyone anticipating a thrilling third period where after 40 minutes, the teams evened at ten shots apiece.

The Canadiens began the period a man down allowing the Rangers to another power play to their name. The slump for New continued blowing their third chance on the night and 15^th overall. In a stronger response, the Rangers attacked in the neutral zone keeping the Habs stuck in their zone dealing with more than they could.

Things relaxed between the teams but the advantage sat with the Rangers who still remained the only ones to record a shot on net after ten minutes. The Habs got one on Lundqvist in the period but it was a small stat that didn’t affect either when it came to the fact that it was still tied with eight minutes left in regulation.

Aside from being even on shots to the net and Montreal gaining a power play, the score remained the same with two minutes remaining in the game and no end in sight. Both were desperate to put an end to the game slapping away when the opportunities were available to them. Neither could break the other leading them into the second overtime of the series. The Rangers ended 60 minutes by improving on the faceoff wins and got even with Montreal playing tight with them to force another period of play.

It was becoming a real battle between goaltenders but in the first overtime period, the Rangers were the ones that wanted to score the game winner while they had the power. Price was denying them at every cost with his defense getting in on the points where they had to block shots from New York. Montreal had a small push against Lundqvist but they couldn’t find more time to act on getting the win. Ten minutes already elapsed with the Rangers coming so close at times but missing by inches on the net. Zuccarello nearly had a wraparound but couldn’t complete the attempt that Price got a stop on.

They weren’t done firing away and felt that it was going to happen for them. In the 14^th minute of play, Chris Kreider and Zibanejad teamed up to slap the puck down the boards to get a chance to be in front of the Canadiens on it. A final pass to Zibanejad gave him a shot to beat Price and win the game in an absolutely victory that gave them a huge advantage going forward.

“They came out hard as we expected,” Lundqvist said after the game to NBC’s Pierre McGuire. “We play well here under a lot of pressure and didn’t want to be down 3-2.” The win gives New York a lot of confidence going back to Madison Square Garden where they give themselves a chance to finish the Canadiens for a second straight time in three years.

“I think we played well in the last game at home,” Lundqvist said. “For this one we need the same urgency and desperation going into the game and set the tone and not wait for something good to happen to us. That’s been an issue for us but we need to take charge right away and set the tone and obviously, we don’t want to come back here.”