by Rich Baiocco
10 MINUTES before the puck dropped last night my friend Jeanne txt me from MSG: "this games gonna b nasty...can feel it in the garden air". ONE SECOND into the game Brandon Prust dropped the gloves with Travis Moen for a lengthy center ice fist-squabble that further engaged the reportedly hostile Garden Faithful. 18 MINUTES later the Rangers had put a 5 spot on the scoreboard and ended Cary Price's night. The rest of the game was a mere exercise in focus and discipline and the Blueshirts executed with passing marks, extending their win streak to 5 in 6 games and 3 straight at home.
The Rangers got off to another great start at home--a trend that is paying off in 2-point dividends--as Artem Anisimov blocked a shot at the blueline and cruised in for a long breakaway, freezing Price on a five-hole deke before finishing him off on the backhand. The Canadians tied it up briefly and we seemed to be in for a typical Original Six grinder, but halfway through the period some crafty hashwork by Mats Zuccarello freed a rebound puck for Dan Girardi to smoke into the upper corner.
Then, the play of the game: Brandon Dubinsky made himself an absolute beast in the corner, absorbing crosscheck after crosscheck from his diminutive ex-teammate and fellow Alaska statesman Scott Gomez before power-spinning off the boards like a bull tossing off a cowboy and driving towards the net. Price got a piece of Dubi's shot, but Callahan (who had spent the shift battling through the bullying of the larger, lazier Paul Mara) pounced on the rebound, sending a puck straight up into the air with enough English on it that it dipped below the crossbar behind Price's head, crossing the plane in the air, yet spun down on the playing side of the goal line on the ice. The play went to review but the eagle eyes in Toronto saw the truth and reversed the no-goal call on the ice as the Ranger bench and the Garden fans erupted with emotion.
The Blueshirts used the crowd to spring for 2 more goals in just over a minute. Marian Gaborik ripped a wrist shot rebound through a defenseman's legs for his most energetic celebration of the season (maybe because his parents were in the seats, or maybe because this was only his 2nd back-to-back scoring game of the season and he knows he's heating up at the exact right time), then Brian Boyle finalized a stampeding 3-on-1 rush for his 21st of the season and reveled in what Al Trautwig later remarked was the loudest he'd heard the Garden all year.
Following a goalie change and ice-wash, Montreal was able to put 2 more on the board, but the Rangers never really sat on the lead and continued to forecheck hard, hem-in the Canadians' pesky quickness, and generate regular scoring opportunities. The resiliency of this team to stray away from it's game plan has been almost iron-willed all season, and the coaching staff has attributed it to the fact that the players never get too high or low emotionally during or after a contest. The Garden is an emotionally invested arena though, especially nearing playoff time. Fans push for the most out of their team and the team and it's supporters have not always seen eye to eye with the Rangers dragging a .500 or less winning percentage at home through most of the season. Clearly though the Rangers and the Garden are beginning to synergize and the offensive results have been unusually explosive: 7 goals against Philly, 6 against the Islanders and 6 against the Habs chalk up the last 3 Ranger home games. Despite an unusually high number of Montreal fans in attendance noisily pushing a comeback, the MSG fans remained resilient as well and drowned them out. Fittingly Vinny High O, who has points in 13 of his 19 games this season and seems to thrive on, if not virtually LIVE for Garden cheers, put the game away late in the third stanza and the Rangers put a two-point chip into the Canadians' 6th seed playoff spot.
The only dark mark on the game was a crushing goal mouth collision that jarred goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. While at first it looked like the king may've hit the back of his head on the ice, it turned out to be more like whiplash and the stiffness set in almost immediately. He struggled through the final 3 minutes but remained between the pipes to earn his 30th win of the season and become the first goaltender to ever reach that mark in his first 6 consecutive seasons.
do we get the same lineup tomorrow? If hank plays, awesome...although the last think we want is for him to have a lingering injury down the stretch. But if CJ has to step up then so be it. He has been preparing himself in practice as if he was going to play. if he does play I think the rest of the squad will step it up even more and give the guy some support...lets go rangers!
ReplyDeleteAbsolute awesome win vs Habs but now on to bigger and better wins. Keep the MO goin whether the King plays or rests to fully recover and continue this recent charge into the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteNot sure who will play in net but I we want the same effort from the team. if Hank plays I'm sure Pittsburgh will try to crash the net and shake him up. Our D need to play big on the road, keep the crease pristine
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