RANGERS LEVEL SERIES AT 2
Canadiens’ offence fizzles in 2-1 loss
NEW YORK The Eastern Conference quarter-final playoff series between the Rangers and the Canadiens has been reduced to a best-of-three affair after the Rangers posted a 2-1 win Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden to tie the series at two games apiece. Carey Price came up with a number of big saves in the third period to give the Canadiens a chance for a comeback, but they were limited to six shots in the period and the Canadiens’ last gasp came up short when Shea Weber hit the post with 1:18 to play. The series moves back to the Bell Centre for Game 5 on Thursday (7 p.m., CBC, TVA Sports, TSN-690 Radio).
All tied up: The Canadiens outshot the Rangers 12-10 in the first period, but the teams went to the dressing room tied 1-1. The Rangers opened the scoring at 11:39 when Jesper Fast slipped the puck under Price. Fast was free in front of the net after Andrei Markov was unable to handle a pass that struck his skate. Henrik Lundqvist stopped Andrew Shaw and Torrey Mitchell on breakaways, but Mitchell tied the score at 18:37. Alex Radulov set the play in motion when he separated Brady Skjei from the puck at the blue-line and passed ahead to Mitchell, who had a 2-on-1 break with Weber. Mitchell passed to Weber, who returned the favour and provided Mitchell with an open net.
Rangers back on top: The Canadiens started the second period on a power play, but were unable to generate a shot on goal. The momentum shifted to the Rangers, who regained the lead at 4:28 of the second period when Nash pounced on a loose puck in front after a Ryan McDonagh shot from the point. New York had a 12-6 edge in shots and the Canadiens had nine giveaways in the period.
Specialty items: The Canadiens’ penalty-killing unit is still perfect after four games. The Rangers had two power plays and were held without a shot on goal. New York is 0-for-12 in the series. The Canadiens’ power play came up empty on three opportunities with two shots on goal and is 2-for-13.
Lineup update: The Canadiens went with the same lineup that produced victory in Game 3, but Claude Julien juggled his lines in the second period with Shaw joining Philip Danault and Max Pacioretty, while Radulov and Artturi Lehkonen flanked Alex Galchenyuk. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault made several changes. Defenceman Nick Holden returned after a one-game absence and replaced Kevin Klein. Vigneault rejigged his top line, putting Kevin Hayes between J.T. Miller and Mats Zuccarello and he replaced Tanner Glass with Pavel Buchnevich, who made his NHL playoff debut.
Celebrity watch: Canadian actor Michael J. Fox was among the celebrities at Madison Square Garden. Other celebs included comedian John Oliver, Run-D.M.C. rapper Darryl McDaniels, actor Ansel Elgort from The Divergent series, Today Show host Matt Lauer, former New York Mets reliever John Franco and the New York Giants trio of Justin Pugh, Jonathan Casillas and Damon Harrison.