Rangers eliminate Canadiens thanks to Zuccarello, Lundqvist
Mats Zuccarello of the New York Rangers had the Montreal Canadiens rough him up, play with his hair and kick their skates at him during their Stanley Cup Playoff opening-round series.
On Saturday night, he had the last laugh.
Zuccarello scored two goals as the Rangers eliminated the Canadiens in Game 6, 3-1, at Madison Square Garden.
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The Rangers will play the winner of the Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators series, which the Senators lead 3-2 New York was the first wild card team, while the Canadiens were the Atlantic Division champions.
Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves) improved to 7-4 in his career in first-round series, outdueling Vezina candidate Carey Price (20 saves).
The Canadiens struck first at 6:19 of the first period, as Alex Radulov once again made it happen offensively for the Habs. He roared in on the forecheck, pried the puck free from two Rangers defensemen and, while falling to the ice, sent a pass from behind the net to Alexei Emelin in the slot. He blasted it home for the 1-0 lead, and his first goal of the playoffs.
But the Rangers’ diminutive dynamo would give them the lead in the second period.
Zuccarello’s first goal came on the power play, taking a Mika Zibanejad pass from the point and snapping it past Price, who let in a stoppable shot.
Zuccarello’s second goal was the result of a gorgeous passing play from J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes, whose dish to Zuccarello left the Canadiens’ defense flat-footed and gave Price no chance to stop it.
Lundqvist did the rest, with some strong saves in the third period to preserve the win, including a pad stop that robbed Tomas Plekanec.
Derek Stepan had an empty netter to ice it.
Game 6 was a physical affair, beginning early in the first period when Montreal captain Max Pacioretty and Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey threw down for one of the playoffs’ few fights this season.
But the Rangers played confidently and controlled on home ice, winning for the second time in the series at MSG after breaking an inexplicable six-game playoff losing streak earlier in the series.
The Rangers won’t have home ice against either the Bruins or Senators in the second round.
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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