Kreider's Two Goals Pace Rangers To 5-2 Victory In Montreal
Saturday night at the Bell Centre
in Montreal the Rangers did not look past a struggling opponent or
ahead to Sunday's crucial divisional showdown against the Pittsburgh
Penguins at Madison Square Garden. Instead they took care of business,
beating the Canadiens 5-2, to pick up another two points in the
standings and remain four points clear of the Penguins in the battle
for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The win was the third in a row for the Rangers following last week's 1-1-1 road trip to California. It was also their first this season in three tries against the Canadiens, who had outscored New York 8-1 in winning the first two games of this season series.
However the Canadiens of March are not the same team as the one which beat the Rangers back in October and November. Playing without injured star goaltender Carey Price and former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman P.K. Subban, among other notables, the Canadiens had trouble most of the game Saturday simply keeping up with the Rangers, who never trailed in this contest.
Chris Kreider scored twice and added an assist, while Derick Brassard notched a goal and two assists and Derek Stepan (1-1-2) registered two points in the win. J.T. Miller also scored for the second straight game, and the team netted two power play goals for the second consecutive match.
It took only 3:04 for Miller to record New York's first even strength goal in six-plus periods this season against Montreal. After Stepan was leveled by an Alexei Emelin check, he dusted himself off, returned to the play, and eventually sent Miller off on a dash the other way with as quick pass. Miller did the rest, making a terrific fake before beating Canadiens goalie Mike Condon between the pads with a backhand shot while cutting across the crease for his 21st of the season.
Montreal did manage to tie the game at 12:26 when Lars Eller picked up a puck in the slot and rifled it past Antti Raanta after Ryan McDonagh had blocked a shot from the blue line by Montreal's Greg Pateryn.
However the Rangers exploded for four goals in the second period to comfortably pull away from the Canadiens. Kreider had a hand in New York's first three goals of the period, notching three points in a game and in a single period for the first time in exactly one year--having also done so during the first period of a March 26, 2015 contest against the Ottawa Senators.
Just 1:32 into the second Brassard buried his team-leading 27th goal of the season, collecting a rebound off the back boards after Kreider's redirect went high and wide of the net, though still earning him an assist. .
Kreider made it 3-1 at 8:19 by sniping a right-circle one-timer off a gorgeous cross-ice pass from Brassard. The goal came during New York's first power play of the game. Keith Yandle also assisted on the goal, his second of the night, fourth in the past two games, and team-best 39th of the season.
Two minutes later Kreider stole the puck at center ice and took off on a breakaway, speeding away from everyone, before closing with a pretty finish for his second goal of the period and 18th of the season at 10:42.
After a Phillip Danault goal pulled Montreal back to within 4-2 at 15:38, Stepan roofed a power play backhand shot into the cage with 41 seconds remaining in the period to make it 5-2. Stepan's 18th goal was assisted by Mats Zuccarello and Brassard, who picked up his third point of the night.
New York went 2-for-3 on the power play Saturday and is now 5 for its last 11 with the man advantage the last three games. The Rangers were also a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, with four of those successful kills coming in the third period.
Raanta started in goal and won for the sixth time in his last seven starts for the Rangers dating to February 18. He made 24 saves Saturday in winning his third consecutive start.
Henrik Lundqvist will get the start on Sunday when the rangers host the Penguins at MSG. Pittsburgh, which has won seven of their last eight games overall, hammered the Red Wings 7-2 in Detroit on Saturday.
The win was the third in a row for the Rangers following last week's 1-1-1 road trip to California. It was also their first this season in three tries against the Canadiens, who had outscored New York 8-1 in winning the first two games of this season series.
However the Canadiens of March are not the same team as the one which beat the Rangers back in October and November. Playing without injured star goaltender Carey Price and former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman P.K. Subban, among other notables, the Canadiens had trouble most of the game Saturday simply keeping up with the Rangers, who never trailed in this contest.
Chris Kreider scored twice and added an assist, while Derick Brassard notched a goal and two assists and Derek Stepan (1-1-2) registered two points in the win. J.T. Miller also scored for the second straight game, and the team netted two power play goals for the second consecutive match.
It took only 3:04 for Miller to record New York's first even strength goal in six-plus periods this season against Montreal. After Stepan was leveled by an Alexei Emelin check, he dusted himself off, returned to the play, and eventually sent Miller off on a dash the other way with as quick pass. Miller did the rest, making a terrific fake before beating Canadiens goalie Mike Condon between the pads with a backhand shot while cutting across the crease for his 21st of the season.
Montreal did manage to tie the game at 12:26 when Lars Eller picked up a puck in the slot and rifled it past Antti Raanta after Ryan McDonagh had blocked a shot from the blue line by Montreal's Greg Pateryn.
However the Rangers exploded for four goals in the second period to comfortably pull away from the Canadiens. Kreider had a hand in New York's first three goals of the period, notching three points in a game and in a single period for the first time in exactly one year--having also done so during the first period of a March 26, 2015 contest against the Ottawa Senators.
Just 1:32 into the second Brassard buried his team-leading 27th goal of the season, collecting a rebound off the back boards after Kreider's redirect went high and wide of the net, though still earning him an assist. .
Kreider made it 3-1 at 8:19 by sniping a right-circle one-timer off a gorgeous cross-ice pass from Brassard. The goal came during New York's first power play of the game. Keith Yandle also assisted on the goal, his second of the night, fourth in the past two games, and team-best 39th of the season.
Two minutes later Kreider stole the puck at center ice and took off on a breakaway, speeding away from everyone, before closing with a pretty finish for his second goal of the period and 18th of the season at 10:42.
After a Phillip Danault goal pulled Montreal back to within 4-2 at 15:38, Stepan roofed a power play backhand shot into the cage with 41 seconds remaining in the period to make it 5-2. Stepan's 18th goal was assisted by Mats Zuccarello and Brassard, who picked up his third point of the night.
New York went 2-for-3 on the power play Saturday and is now 5 for its last 11 with the man advantage the last three games. The Rangers were also a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, with four of those successful kills coming in the third period.
Raanta started in goal and won for the sixth time in his last seven starts for the Rangers dating to February 18. He made 24 saves Saturday in winning his third consecutive start.
Henrik Lundqvist will get the start on Sunday when the rangers host the Penguins at MSG. Pittsburgh, which has won seven of their last eight games overall, hammered the Red Wings 7-2 in Detroit on Saturday.
Mar 26 - 9:37pm by JimCerny
FINAL STATS
NY RANGERS 5 MONTREAL CANADIENS 2
SOG: NYR 23 MTL 26
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
03:04 NYR J.T. Miller (21) Backhand shot - ASST: Derek Stepan (26), Keith Yandle (38) 1-0 NYR
12:26 MTL Lars Eller (12) Wrist shot - ASST: Greg Pateryn (5), Nathan Beaulieu (17) 1-1 Tie
2nd Period
01:32 NYR Derick Brassard (27) Wrist shot - ASST: Chris Kreider (19), Rick Nash (22) 2-1 NYR
08:19 NYR PPG - Chris Kreider (17) Wrist shot - ASST: Derick Brassard (29), Keith Yandle (39) 3-1 NYR
10:42 NYR Chris Kreider (18) Backhand shot - ASST: NONE 4-1 NYR
15:38 MTL Phillip Danault (3) Wrist shot - ASST: David Desharnais (18), Sven Andrighetto (8) 4-2 NYR
3rd Period
NONE
PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
17:10 NYR Chris Kreider Hooking - 2 min against Lars Eller
2nd Period
02:44 NYR Jesper Fast Holding - 2 min against David Desharnais
07:37 MTL Andrei Markov Holding - 2 min against Rick Nash
19:10 MTL Alexei Emelin Cross checking - 2 min against Tanner Glass
3rd Period
03:07 NYR Dan Girardi Tripping - 2 min against Mike Brown
05:08 NYR Viktor Stalberg Tripping - 2 min against Max Pacioretty
08:07 NYR Kevin Klein Tripping - 2 min against Lars Eller
10:02 MTL David Desharnais Tripping - 2 min against Marc Staal
12:49 MTL Torrey Mitchell Holding - 2 min against Chris Kreider
12:49 NYR Chris Kreider Embellishment - 2 min against Torrey Mitchell
15:15 NYR Keith Yandle Cross checking - 2 min against Mike Brown
FINAL TEAM STATS
PENALTY MINUTES: NYR 14 MTL 8
POWER PLAY: NYR 2/3 MTL 0/7
FACEOFF WINS: NYR 22 MTL 29
HITS: NYR 25 MTL 32
GIVEAWAYS: NYR 9 MTL 20
TAKEAWAYS: NYR 6 MTL 5
BLOCKED SHOTS: NYR 14 MTL 17
NYR FINAL FACEOFF %: BRASSARD 36%, E STAAL 75%, STEPAN 44%, MOORE 40%, MILLER 100%, HAYES 33%
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. DERICK BRASSARD
2. CHRIS KREIDER
3. DEREK STEPAN
1. DERICK BRASSARD
2. CHRIS KREIDER
3. DEREK STEPAN
NEXT GAME
The Rangers return Home to MSG Tomorrow Night to take on Division Rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30 PM
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