Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price lived up to their reputations, making life difficult for scorers as they both made difficult saves look routine. The Rangers never led in regulation, coming from behind twice to force overtime. But in the extra period, tied 2-2, it was the Carey Price show. Price made several wonderful stops, keeping the Rangers from winning it before the Habs could take the extra point in the shootout.

For a potential –and I think it is the most likely scenario– first round matchup, this game had a little bit of everything. It was certainly a strong game by two teams just below the upper echelon of teams chasing the Cup. Perhaps it was just me, but this seemed like a relatively clean game by both teams. Neither team was overly sloppy, although there were some bad penalties. But overall a fun game to watch. The Rangers just lost the coin flip this time around.

On to the goals:

Habs 1, Rangers 0

Derek Stepan failed to clear the puck, which was a microcosm of the start to the game for the Rangers. Shea Weber eventually took a wrister wide as Andrew Shaw got loose from Nick Holden. Shaw tucked the puck into the empty net as Holden ran into Lundqvist as he tried to recover. The Rangers were running around all shift.

Rangers 1, Habs 1

Oscar Lindberg picked up the puck in the defensive zone, then did a wonderful job of not only outletting to Jesper Fast for the zone exit, but by following it up by skating directly to the net. Fast skated around Alexi Emelin, then fell down as he made his centering pass through Weber’s legs and right to Lindberg for the goal.

Habs 2, Rangers 1

Montreal won the faceoff on the powerplay and worked the puck to Weber on the far point. Weber just unloaded on his shot. He’s one of the few that can beat Lundqvist clean from there.

Rangers 2, Habs 2

Jimmy Vesey got the puck away from Andrei Markov along the boards, and moved the puck over to Ryan McDonagh, who outletted the puck to Rick Nash. Nash fought off Jeff Petry, then roofed it over Price’s glove.

Even Strength Corsi

The Rangers didn’t have the best first period, as we all got that feeling early on. But they really turned it on in the second and third. The opening period is still a concern, but the Rangers are still able to take control as the game progresses. Seems to be a common theme lately.

The Rangers got a point, which is certainly important, but not as much as a strong showing against a potential playoff opponent. That was more important. In the end, the shootout is a coin flip, so I’m not fretting too much.

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