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What a game this one, and what a roller coaster ride. The Rangers promptly went down 4-0 against the Habs, allowing a pair of bad process goals and at least one and at most three bad goals from Alex Georgiev. Then the Rangers scored three in a row. Then they allowed a goal. Then they scored three in a row again, and my 11 year wait for revenge is over.

The Rangers were still atrocious defensively, and Georgiev was rough for the first two periods. But the offense saved them, and Georgiev stood tall in the third when it mattered most. Add in a critical penalty kill and a team that was clearly inspired and you have yourself a fun win.

Habs 1, Rangers 0

I don’t know what Libor Hajek was doing here. He left his spot at the post to chase a pop up, and then Max Domi slid in and buried the rebound. Just bad positioning and defense.

Habs 2, Rangers 0

There was a bad turnover at the blue line, and then the Habs turned it, but slowly. They didn’t have full control until they hit the Rangers’ blue line, with the defensemen already back at the top of the circle. That leaves them all day to fire away, and Artturi Lehkonen delivered for the Habs. Ideally Georgiev stops this, but let’s start focusing on preventing these shots from occurring. It’s low hanging fruit at this point.

Habs 3, Rangers 0

Another instance of the Rangers backing off and allowing a controlled entry, this time a passing entry. Another Jacob Trouba screen, and another one that you want Georgiev to stop. Again, if you don’t allow these entries, these shots don’t happen. Stop the entry, stop the shots, stop the goals.

Habs 4, Rangers 0

No way around this, Georgiev needs to stop that.

Habs 4, Rangers 1

Brady Skjei made the great rush up the ice, forcing the forecheckers back with his speed. He lost the puck a bit on the entry, but Artemi Panarin was there for support. Panarin made a perfect pass to Filip Chytil for the one-timer goal. Speed kills, and this is the Skjei we need to see.

Habs 4, Rangers 2

Pavel Buchnevich caught Cale Fleury flat footed and blew by him. Some puck luck and it’s two goals in 54 seconds.

Habs 4, Rangers 3

What a shift by PP2 here. Brendan Lemieux sure does the little things right, and he’s pretty good in front of the net. Great deflection on the Trouba shot.

Habs 5, Rangers 3

DeAngelo with a bad clear attempt here, and the Rangers never recovered. Bad coverage and Lehoken was wide open int he high slot for the goal.

Habs 5, Rangers 4

What a play by Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome to use their bodies to fight off Habs defenders. Then the passing.

Rangers 5, Habs 5

A shorty to tie it off a perfectly executed 2-on-1 with Lemieux and Brett Howden. Credit to Howden for getting that pass over and Lemieux for turning the rush and the finish. There’s some bad luck for Nick Suzuki here, as his attempted block on the Skjei clear slowed the puck down enough for Lemieux to collect it and turn the rush.

Rangers 6, Habs 5

I don’t care how this went in. Neither should you. It’s a lead. And of course this is the one I couldn’t find a gif of.

Shot Heatmap

Despite the win, that’s still a lot of shots at the front of the net for the Habs. They were targeting Georgiev’s glove side, which is the first time I’ve ever seen that, so it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Skater Results

Seems that whomever Hajek is with, he drags them down. Been a while since I’ve seen DeAngelo this low. However the rest of the team seemed to have a good one.

The Rangers may win but I may die. That’s the mantra of this season. This was a bad game but a fun win, if that makes any sense. In a rollercoaster season, this was a rollercoaster win.

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