New York Rangers strangle confused Montreal Canadiens with 4-1 victory -NHL Update
Looking at the New York and Montreal matchup on Friday, March 30, 2012, was like seeing a major league champion go up against an entry-level minor league club since the former dominated in such a way.
Rangers cruised to an easy win against the struggling Canadiens, 4-1, as Henrik Lundqvist blocked 19 of 20 shots on his net at the sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
New York is another team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that has managed to shatter a number of records and perform extraordinarily well this time around as they made it their third franchise season in history to grab 50 wins. Asking them about how
they feel, Rangers will most likely reply with an uninterested attitude.
"It doesn't mean squat. I will tell you right now it means absolutely nothing," New York coach, John Tortorella, said. "It's about how we're playing as we go through these next four games against tough opponents. It's about our game going into the playoffs.
You get measured by the playoffs."
Rangers might seem a little harsh towards themselves but when you are an All-Star filled up team, achieving anything less than a Stanley Cup championship is not worth mentioning.
A few days back, New York was close to leading their season long grip of the top spot in the Eastern Conference as Pittsburgh Penguins closed in. Rangers saw it as something they needed to work on and are now five points above Penguins with four games remaining
on the schedule.
"The last three or four games, we really responded in a good way," Lundqvist said. "You're going to have games where you feel like you can do a lot better, but overall our consistency over the last week has been great. Everybody understands how we have to
play to have success."
Marian Gaborik got closer to his 40th goal this season, potting in his 39th nearly midway through of the first after missing to fire the puck.
Brad Richards got the help of captain, Ryan Callahan, who screened opposing goalie, Carey Price, letting the puck slide right through.
Michael Del Zotto added two straight in the third period nearly eight minutes apart while Rene Bourque capped it off to kill Lundqvist’s shutout hopes at 17:31.
Montreal Canadiens do not have any time to breathe as they have the next in Washington against Capitals on Saturday. New York will be staying home to face defending Stanley Cup champs, Boston Bruins, on Sunday.
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