NEW YORK: The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in an overtime thriller yesterday to move within one victory of a first Stanley Cup appearance in two decades.
Roared on by a boisterous Madison Square Garden crowd, the Rangers gave their long suffering fans cause for optimism that an overdue NHL title could be close when Martin St. Louis scored the Game Four winner six minutes into overtime.
The result gives the Rangers a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals with the next game in Montreal tomorrow.
St. Louis sealed the win when he combined with Carl Hagelin and Brad Richards to slap the puck past Canadiens goaltender Dustin Tokarski from an acute angle, whipping the Big Apple into a frenzy of excitement.
Hagelin had opened the scoring just seven minutes into the first period with a short-handed goal when his team mate Benoit Pouliot was in the penalty box for high sticking.
The Canadiens have struggled with their power play during the series and their inability to score was compounded when Ryan McDonagh and Brian Boyle got the puck to Hagelin on the breakaway.
The Swedish left wing skated free then shot through the legs of Tokarski for his sixth goal of the playoffs. Tokarski, called into the starting lineup after Corey Price was ruled out of the series with a knee injury, made 26 stops.
The Canadiens tied the game at 1-1 midway through the second period when Montreal defenseman Francis Bouillon rifled a snap shot past the Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made 27 saves.
New York regained the lead when Dan Girardi fed Derick Brassard and the Rangers center buried the puck past Tokarski on the last minute of the second period.
The Canadiens’ finally took advantage of the extra man when PK Subban’s slap shot took a deflection past Lundqvist to tie the game at 2-2 after two minutes of the final period.
Alex Galchenyuk almost won the game for the Canadiens with three minutes to go in regulation but his snap shot hit the crossbar, forcing the teams into overtime for second time.REUTERS
