GARDEN OF EVEN!
Rangers roll again at home, pound Sens to tie series at 2
Tanner Glass and Rangers crush Senators, 4-1, on Thursday night to win their fourth straight playoff game at Madison Square Garden.
Remember when the Rangers couldn’t win at the Garden? Remember two-and-a-half weeks ago when they dropped Game 3 to Montreal, fell down 2-1 in the first round and the walls were caving in? Those dark clouds have since dissipated, the narrative completely changed as the Blueshirts were in complete control over the Senators Thursday night once again, taking Game 4, 4-1, tying the series 2-2 and winning their fourth straight on home ice thanks in part to Oscar Lindberg’s two goals.
The Rangers have made the Garden a fortress again at the perfect time.
“Every game is tough and you’re not going to get anything for free. You have to earn it,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who made 22 saves. “When you have good structure and you pay attention to all the little things and do that right and then let skill take over, I think we’re a pretty good team.”
That Game 3 loss to the Canadiens was the Rangers’ sixth straight home loss in the postseason, and their 21-164 home record during the 2016-17 regular season, which included a franchise-worst eight-game home losing streak, only compounded the idea that MSG had become a house of horrors. Not anymore.
Lindberg, who wasn’t himself early in the season as he worked back from bilateral hip surgery, played only 5:07 in Saturday’s Game 2 loss, which went to double overtime, but has been a huge contributor the last two games on a line with J.T. Miller and Tanner Glass, again a high-impact trio for the Blueshirts. Lindberg netted his first career playoff goal in Game 3 before scoring the Rangers’ second and third goals in Game 4, Nick Holden tallying the first on a nifty flip to beat Craig Anderson, who was pulled for Mike Condon before the start of the third.
“He was hurt for a while. It takes time to come back from that, but he’s a quality player,” Mats Zuccarello said of Lindberg. “It shows in practice every day and it’s fun to see him play. You just see the quality he has in him as a center. He’s calm with the puck and makes players who play with him better.”
Depth has been a hallmark of this team all season, and it’s been on display the last two games. Nine Rangers recorded a point in Game 4, five points coming from that fourth line.
“In my opinion and I think in most of the guys’ opinion we have four even, good lines,” Zuccarello said. “Especially in the playoffs it’s important to have every line do what they can. Oscar’s line came up big today. That’s huge for us. I think that’s our strength, been our strength (the) whole year, and we’ve got to keep that going moving forward.”
Ottawa appeared to be falling apart in the third period when they resorted to engaging in scuffles after being dominated over the last six periods. Play stopped with 25.3 seconds left in the game. Kyle Turris threw his shoulder right into Glass’ chest during a battle in the corner and instigated a fight. Glass then pummeled Turris to the ground while Lindberg scrapped with Mark Stone. Glass skated off to the locker room to a huge round of applause from the Garden crowd after a two-assist effort. Five more players were penalized just seconds after play resumed.
“He started swinging, and if you mess with the bull, you get the horns,” Glass said.
MSG is a true home again for the Rangers, but there’s still a job to do.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” Glass said. “We’re 2-2 in a second-round series. Our plan was to win the Stanley Cup, and we’re 10 wins away from that.”