RANGERS VS OTTAWA GAME 2 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL
RANGERS VS OTTAWA GAME 2 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL
By: Matthew Blittner
Rangers 5, Senators 6 (2OT): 4/29/17 Canadian Tire Centre
After losing Game 1 in Ottawa, there were two prevailing themes from NHL analysts. One: Ottawa played their best possible game and still only won by a single (some would say miraculous) goal. Two: New York played almost their absolute worst and was still in the game till the final horn.
To flip the script, the Rangers need to get contributions from Chris Kreider, JT Miller, and Derek Stepan. All of whom have been MIA in these playoffs.
The Blueshirts also need to assert their speed advantage and get more pressure on the goaltender.
If the Rangers can do these two things, they should be in good shape for the rest of the series.
Would they start in Game 2?
OVERVIEW:
Henrik Lundqvist was tested early on as he had to make a sprawling save on Tommy Wingels 46 seconds into the first period.
Craig Anderson then retaliated with a pad save on Derek Stepan at 59 seconds of the first.
Marc Staal was then called for interference on Erik Karlsson at 3:28 of the first.
The Rangers were unfazed though as they turned the tables on Ottawa when MarK Stone could not keep the puck in the offense zone and the Rangers went up the ice on a shorthanded 2-on-1 odd man rush which resulted in Michael Grabner scoring for the 1-0 lead at 4:16 of the first. Assisted by Jesper Fast.
The shorthanded goal gave the Rangers a momentum boost, but that would soon be negated by a JT Miller hooking penalty against Derick Brassard at 7:30 of the first.
Immediately, Game 1 hero, Erik Karlsson raised blood pressures throughout New York as he rang a shot of the post that just deflected out.
The Rangers would successfully kill of Ottawa's second power play of the period.
Unfortunately the Rangers' undisciplined nature then reared its' ugly head as they gave Ottawa a third power play when Chris Kreider was called for elbowing Jean-Gabriel Pageau at 10:18 of the first.
After killing off their third penalty of the period, Henrik Lundqvist came up big with a save on Alexandre Burrows at 12:39 of the first.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau then took advantage of a Dan Girardi neutral zone turnover to score a goal that handcuffed Lundqvist at 13:59 of the first to tie the game at 1.
The Rangers were undisciplined yet again as they committed three penalties in the period after doing the same thing in Game 1. Thankfully their penalty kill was on its' game, but Lundqvist was handcuffed on a soft goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau which tied the game at 1 late in the first period.
The second period started with the Rangers pushing back against Ottawa and getting shots on goal with a heavy net front presence, which is something they failed to do in Game 1.
Henrik Lundqvist then made a great save on Cody Ceci off an odd-man rush at 3:48 of the second period.
Craig Anderson then upped the ante as he stoned Oscar Lindberg at 5:54 of the second on an unbelievable save from point blank range as he was falling backwards.
And then Anderson continued to up the ante as he outdid himself with a toe save on Michael Grabner at 7:54 of the second.
Mark Stone then hooked Jimmey Vesey at 8:30 of the second after a 2-on-0 odd man rush from the Rangers where Derek Stepan failed to put the puck into what essentially amounted to an empty net as Craig Anderson was leaning the opposite way.
Somebody call the police because Anderson just robbed JT Miller when he made the save of the playoffs on the power play as Miller was down low on the opposite side of the net and Anderson stopped him dead to rights with the glove at 9:58 of the second.
What Miller couldn't do, Chris Kreider FINALLY did, as he put in the Rangers' second goal of the game on a shot from the dots at 10:39 of the second period. 2-1 Rangers. His first goal of the playoffs. Assisted by Ryan McDonagh and Mika Zibanejad.
Brendan Smith then slashed Mark Stone at the end of a play at 12:56 of the second to send Ottawa to their fourth power play of the game.
However, the Rangers' penalty kill was on top of their game as they scored their second shorthanded goal of the game when rick Nash forced a turnover and went up the ice with Derek Stepan for a shorthanded 2-on-1 odd man rush and Stepan roofed it over the glove of Anderson for the 3-1 Ranger lead at 13:10 of the second.
Zack Smith then took out his frustrations with a roughing penalty against Marc Staal at 13:46 to create a four aside skating situation.
Marc Methot then took advantage of the Rangers' defense and speedy through and made a second chance shot on Lundqvist count as he scored his first goal of the year at the 14:00 mark of the second. To cut the Ranger lead to 3-2. Assisted by ben Harpur and Mike Hoffman.
Brady Skjei then took a seeing eye shot from the point and the puck had eyes as it went past Anderson thanks to a screening Chris Kreider at 15:51 of the second. Assisted by Ryan McDonagh and Mika Zibanejad. 4-2 Rangers.
With 22.6 seconds remaining in the second period, both teams were forced to skate four aside as Derick Brassard and Rick Nash were called for high-sticking and penalties.
Nobody saw this coming. A game and a series dominated thus far by goaltending, the Rangers erupted for three goals in the second period for the 4-2 lead. The rangers still need to stay out of the sin bin, but their offense has thus far been in high gear.
The Rangers and Senators started the third period still skating four aside from the carry over penalties at the end of the second period.
Mark Stone then brought Ottawa back into the game as he scored off an end board rebound that he banged home past Lundqvist at 1:28 of the third period, cutting the Ranger lead to 4-3. Assisted by Fredrik Claesson and Dion Phaneuf.
Craig Anderson then fed off the momentum of his teammates as he stopped a breaking in Chris Kreider with a kick save and then followed it up with a double save on rebound chances from Mika Zibanejad at 3:53 of the third period.
The Rangers then caused their fans to scream at their television sets as they gave up a 3-on-1 odd-man rush but Brady Skjei got a stick on a Kyle Turris pass to break it up and go the other way as the Rangers restored their two goal lead when who but Brady Skjei scored, off a 4-on-2 odd man rush on a shot from the point through Anderson's five-hole for the 5-3 lead at 5:10 of the third period, assisted by Brendan Smith.
Kyle Turris would score a goal and have it taken away as he committed a holding penalty on Brendan Smith at 11:29 of the third period to send the Blueshirts back to the power play.
Ottawa then made the Rangers sweat it out as Jean-Gabriel Pageau redirected a shot through Lundqvist's five hole to cut the Ranger lead to 5-4 at 16:41 of the third period. Assisted by Zack Smith and Dion Phaneuf.
Lundqvist then made a huge save and a cover on a shot from Alexandre Burrows at 17:17 of the third.
Craig Anderson then one upped Hank with a huge glove save on an angle shot from Michael Grabner with 15:51 left in regulation.
Kyle Turris then tied the game with 62 seconds left as Jean-Gabriel Pageau redirected the puck once again over the pads of Lundqvist for the 5 all score. Pageau netted his second career playoff hat trick.
Mats Zuccarello then tried to tip in the puck as time expired but Craig Anderson kicked the puck away to send the game to overtime.
Ottawa came out stronger in overtime as they got three shots on goal in the first two minutes of the extra period.
Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad then led a charge into the Ottawa zone but were turned away by Craig Anderson.
Jesper Fast then had a chance to put in a loose puck in front of Anderson but the Ottawa netminder kept the puck out.
Henirk Lundqvist then SAVED THE GAME! A mad scramble in the crease and Lundqvist dove backwards and kept out the initial shot and then the rebound chance from Mark Stone at 3:41 of overtime.
Derick Brassard then high sticked Mika Zibanejad as the Rangers were granted a power play at 4:10 of OT.
Ottawa killed off the Ranger power play.
Craig Anderson then turned over the puck to Rick Nash behind the net and Nash could not score on the empty net as Kyle Turris got his stick in the way of Nash's shot.
Craig Anderson then made the save on a shot from down low from Kevin Hayes with 6:36 remaining in the first overtime period.
Lundqvist was forced to make several saves with under four minutes to go the Senators applied pressure deep in the Rangers' zone.
Craig Anderson with a minute and a half to go in the first overtime period robbed Chris Kreider on the doorstep.
Lundqvist then rose to the moment as he denied Ryan Dzingel as he was out of position and the clock was ticking off the final few seconds of overtime.
Then they were headed to double overtime.
The Rangers came out getting some moderate pressure on Anderson to start the second overtime period.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau then ended it off a 2-on-1 odd man rush for his fourth goal of the game at 2:26 of the second overtime.
WHAT WENT RIGHT:
1. SLUMPS BE GONE: Two men who had been major parts of the Rangers offense in the regular season had been MIA in the playoffs, but Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan scored two of the Rangers five goals and played key roles on the ice without the puck as well.
2. YOUNG BRIAN LEETCH: Brady Skjei had two goals in the game, adding to his team-leading playoff total (4). The last Ranger defenseman to lead the team in playoff goals scored? The Legendary Brian Leetch. He is also the first Ranger defenseman to score two goals in a postseason game since Leetch in 1989.
3. PENALTY KILL: The Rangers committed five penalties and none of them ended up with Ottawa scoring a goal. And as a bonus, the Rangers scored two shorthanded goals in a playoff game for the first time since 1992.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
1. UNDISCIPLINED PLAY: The Rangers committed three penalties in the first 10 minutes of the game, continuing a troubling trend in this series. They would commit five penalties in the game.
2. DEFENSIVE COLLAPSE: A shaky Lundqvist surrendered six goals including the game-tying goal with 62 seconds remaining in regulation.
HIGHLIGHTS:
BEST SAVE PERIOD 1: Henrik Lundqvist was tested early on as he had to make a sprawling save on Tommy Wingels 46 seconds into the first period.
BEST SAVE PERIOD 2: Somebody call the police because Anderson just robbed JT Miller when he made the save of the playoffs on the power play as Miller was down low on the opposite side of the net and Anderson stopped him dead to rights with the glove at 9:58 of the second.
BEST SAVE PERIOD 3: Craig Anderson then fed off the momentum of his teammates as he stopped a breaking in Chris Kreider with a kick save and then followed it up with a double save on rebound chances from Mika Zibanejad at 3:53 of the third period.
BEST SAVE FIRST OVERTIME: Henrik Lundqvist SAVED THE GAME! A mad scramble in the crease and Lundqvist dove backwards and kept out the initial shot and then the rebound chance from Mark Stone at 3:41 of overtime.
BEST SAVE SECOND OVERTIME: None.
BEST GOAL PERIOD 1: Marc Staal was called for interference on Erik Karlsson at 3:28 of the first.
The Rangers were unfazed though as they turned the tables on Ottawa when MarK Stone could not keep the puck in the offense zone and the Rangers went up the ice on a shorthanded 2-on-1 odd man rush which resulted in Michael Grabner scoring for the 1-0 lead at 4:16 of the first. Assisted by Jesper Fast.
BEST GOAL PERIOD 2: The Rangers' penalty kill was on top of their game as they scored their second shorthanded goal of the game when rick Nash forced a turnover and went up the ice with Derek Stepan for a shorthanded 2-on-1 odd man rush and Stepan roofed it over the glove of Anderson for the 3-1 Ranger lead at 13:10 of the second.
BEST GOAL PERIOD 3: The Rangers caused their fans to scream at their television sets as they gave up a 3-on-1 odd-man rush but Brady Skjei got a stick on a Kyle Turris pass to break it up and go the other way as the Rangers restored their two goal lead when who but Brady Skjei scored, off a 4-on-2 odd man rush on a shot from the point through Anderson's five-hole for the 5-3 lead at 5:10 of the third period, assisted by Brendan Smith.
BEST GOAL FIRST OVERTIME: None scored.
BEST GOAL SECOND OVERTIME: Jean-Gabriel Pageau then ended it off a 2-on-1 odd man rush for his fourth goal of the game at 2:26 of the second overtime.
TURNING POINT: Jean-Gabriel Pageau then ended it off a 2-on-1 odd man rush for his fourth goal of the game at 2:26 os the second overtime.
WHAT THEY SAID:
NBC ANALYST BRIAN BOUCHER: "The goaltenders were fantastic n Game 1. Craig Anderson didn't quite have the volume that Henrik Lundqvist did, but he was awesome. Lundqvist was under siege early on, but he was outstanding."
NBC ANALYST MIKE MILBURY: "The Rangers were sloppy and undisciplined in the first period, and they were almost able to skate out of it with a lead, but turnovers prevented that."
"The Rangers have some mental health problems in that locker room right now."
COMING ATTRACTION: The Rangers' next game will be Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Second Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday May 2nd. Game Time: 7pm TV: NBSCN.
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