Lundqvist, Rangers burned by penalties
DANIEL LEA/CSM/ REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
OTTAWA — Three penalties made life incredibly difficult on Henrik Lundqvist in the first period, yet he managed to keep the Senators off the board. The Rangers played with fire one too many times, however, and they got burned with 1:21 left in the second period of their 2-1, Game 1 loss Thursday night.
Ryan Dzingel buried a rebound after Brady Skjei’s second penalty of the night, a holding infraction at the end boards.
“100 percent,” Derek Stepan said when asked if the Rangers need more discipline. “It’s such a key part of the game, special teams, and you have to be disciplined. You can’t take too many penalties.”
The Rangers had some quality chances in the first during five-on-five play, but a slash by Kevin Hayes, a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty and a Skjei hook on an Ottawa shorthanded odd-man rush sapped their momentum.
“It kind of put us back on our heels a little bit,” Marc Staal said. “They’ve got some dangerous guys on their power play, and we give them that many opportunities they’re gonna hurt you sooner or later.” Brassard, he says, because he is now essentially back home, a native of nearby Hull, Quebec.
“Your parents and your family, they’re always supportive and sometimes when things aren’t going well obviously they’re gonna be affected by it because they’re gonna hear it from other friends or other members of the family, which is different than in New York or Columbus,” Brassard said. “But we had success this year and we were winning games, so everything is great.”
The former Ranger thrived under pressure in the first round, putting up eight points in six games. Brassard had five shots and eight total attempts in Thursday’s game. The man he was traded for, Mika Zibanejad, had four shots.