Canadiens blanked 2-0 by Rangers
LUNDQUIST POSTS 31-SAVE SHUTOUT
Any troubles Henrik Lundqvist has had with the Montreal Canadiens were nowhere to be found in the opening game of the NHL playoffs.
The veteran goaltender survived a shaky first period to post a 31-save shutout as the New York Rangers topped Montreal 2-0 on Wednesday night.
It will be up to the Canadiens to come up with an answer in Game 2 on Friday night at Bell Centre, or risk heading to New York down two games in the best-of-seven series.
“We didn’t put out there that Hank (Lundqvist) is going to have a hard time here,” said New York coach Alain Vigneault. “We’ve always had a lot of confidence in his game and what he did tonight was what we expected.”
Montreal went 3-0-0 against Lundqvist and the Rangers in the regular season, continuing the trend of the last two seasons in which Carey Price has shone against the Blueshirts while Lundqvist laboured. But the same may not apply in the post-season.
When New York knocked off the Canadiens in six games in 2014, a series in which Price was injured in the opening game, Lundqvist was pulled for Game 5 but bounced back with a Game 6 shutout.
His clean sheet in the opener put him in the career lead among active NHL goalies with 10.
“We know Hank’s going to bring it,” said Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh. “His focus and determination really fed to the rest of the team.”
Montreal pulled Price late in the third, but Michael Grabner settled the issue with an empty-net goal with 1:10 left to play.
Shots were 31-31 in a fastpaced game with plenty of chances at both ends. Lundqvist looked to be fighting the puck as Montreal had a 16-5 first-period shot advantage but managed to keep it out if his net.
Fired up by 1960s pop star Ginette Reno’s national anthem, the Canadiens were all over New York, but it was the Rangers who struck first 9:50 into the game on only their third shot. Tomas Plekanec won a draw in the Montreal zone, but fourth line winger Tanner Glass pounced on it and lifted a backhand from the slot over Price’s shoulder.
“Certainly a goal helped to settle us down and get back to the focus and making the plays we needed to make,” said McDonagh. “A great play by (Glass). It’s great to see him get rewarded there.”
PENGUINS 3, BLUE JACKETS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots in a surprise start in place of injured Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins opened their Stanley Cup title defence with a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night.
Murray was scheduled to get the nod in the playoff opener but was a late scratch after suffering a lower-body injury during warm-ups. Fleury withstood an early push by Columbus, and the Penguins responded by pulling away from the untested Blue Jackets.
Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Nick Bonino and Bryan Rust also scored, and Evgeni Malkin assisted on Rust and Kessel’s goals in his first game back after missing the final three weeks of the regular season because of an upper-body injury.
Matt Calvert scored for Columbus in the third period.