April 23, 2009, Washington Capitals-New York Rangers game story for Metro newspaepr
The King has spoken
Lundqvist gives Rangers commanding 3-1 series lead
Key stat 14
Sean Avery had just four penalty minutes last night — 14 less than he had in Game 3. Avery, though, nearly cost the Rangers the win, with a high-sticking penalty with three minutes left in the game.
NHL.
Of course, there was one last flurry that held the crowd breathless.
It would not have been right to end this game any other way.
One last scramble, then a scream that was as much a stress release as a cheer.
The Rangers won, or rather, held on against the Capitals last night, 2-1. Now with a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Rangers have their first opportunity to advance to the semifinal round for the third year in a row tomorrow night at the Verizon Center.
The only reason the Rangers are in a position to advance is Henrik Lundqvist. Once again, he was a man facing a firing squad. Lundqvist stopped 38 shots of 39 shots last night. In the series, he’s turned away and has yielded only eight goals on 149 shots. Without Lundqvist, it’s a near certainty that the Rangers would not be on the cusp of advancing to face the Boston Bruins in a playoff series for the first time since 1973.
“He’s amazing. There’s not much you can’t say what he does for this team,” said Chris Drury, who scored the game-winning goal early in the second period. “For us, it’s a great example of what hard work and dedication does. He certainly bring that every day.”
Following their 60 minute no-show Monday in Game 3, the Rangers came out flying, hitting and crashing into Simeon Varlamov at every opportunity. The Blueshirts’ early work paid off when Paul Mara’s knuckled a slapshot off of an offensive zone faceoff at 13:55 into the first. The goal ended Varlamov’s shutout streak at 126:11.
“[Center Brandon Dubinsky] made a great faceoff, won it straight back and I was just trying to get the puck, not even (get it) to the net. Thank God it went in,” Mara said.
Drury doubled the lead 2:23 into the second. Drury rushed up ice and hammered a slap shot that Varlamov tried to glove. Instead of catching and freezing the puck, it dropped in front of Washington’s future franchise netminder. Lauri Korpikowski tried to push the puck in the net. Instead it came to Drury, who beat Varlamov glove side.
“The guys have all been playing extremely hard. I’ve just been trying to chip in wherever and however I can," Drury said. 'I just went out and got a good break.".
From there, the Rangers went into a shell and Washington sent out all of its big guns. Washington was stymied by Lundqvist, who put on spectacular goaltending display that was reminiscent of Mike Richter in that magical 1994 year. Lundqvist stoned Washington, turning away all 19 Capital shots in the period, including four brilliant saves in a span of 1:09.
“That is why we have a very good goalie and he is going to have to be good. They are going to get chances. That is just the way it is,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said. “You don’t stop them. You can’t stop them. It is just trying to contain them as best you can. You have to give some credit to a pretty hard working Washington team but we found a way to win.”
Alex Ovechkin cut the lead in half 2:16 into the third with his first goal of the series. Driving down the wing, the league’s best player took his patented wrist shot from the circle through Derek Morris’ legs that Lundqvist said hit his glove. Already in a shell, the Rangers tightened up even more while the Caps threw shots at Lundqvist from every angle.
“He saved the game again. He’s playing great right now,” Ovechkin said of Lundqvist. “Lundqvist did an unbelievable job. He’s supposed to make great saves. But we didn’t score on our chances.”
After scoring two special teams goals in Game 3, the Caps went 0-for-6 on the power play last night.
Along with going into the defensive shell, the other reason Washington had chances was due to Sean Avery inserted himself into the series in the third period. The league’s most hated man single-handedly nearly gave the game away. At 10:36, following a race to the puck with Milan Jurcina, Avery earned a roughing call as he spun and threw a backhand punch that bloodied the Washington defenseman. Three minutes later, he was assessed two minutes for a high stick to the neck of Brian Pothier. Expect the league to review the high stick on Pothier to see if it is suspension-worthy.
One of the league’s most effective players when he’s on his game, Avery has been a detriment instead of a contributor in the series. In the four games, he has 24 penalty minutes and has gone pointless. Avery was not available for comment and Tortorella would not talk about his winger.
“I’m not going to talk about that stuff with you guys. I have issues with a number of things that went on tonight, but that’ll be in the locker room," Tortorella said. "We’ll keep that in the locker room."
Three things we saw last night:
1 King of Kings. Prior to the series, it was widely agreed that Henrik Lundqvist was the Rangers best chance to steal the series. Lundqvist had been good in the first three games. That was prologue to a spectacular exhibition of goaltending last night. Lundqvist stopped a career-playoff best 38 shots, including an outrageous 19 in the second period to give his team a 3-1 series lead. The Caps’ lone goal came 2:16 into the third when Alex Ovechkin used Derek Morris as a screen and wristed a bullet into the net. King Henrik swatted away shot after shot in two power plays to the final period.
2 Drury’s back. The Rangers held information regarding Chris Drury’s injury tighter than the CIA holds state secrets. Drury’s hurt, but no one knows exactly to what extent. Still, the Rangers captain wants to play when the games mean something. Two minutes into the second period and the Rangers leading 1-0, Drury steamed down the wing and unleashed a slapshot that rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov couldn’t glove. Lauri Korpikowski tried to jam the puck under the Washington rookie. The puck came loose and one of the great winners in American sports scored his 47th career playoff goal—first of this playoff year—with a rebound.
3 Not going Green. Washington’s Mike Green could be this century’s Paul Coffey, an unparalleled scoring machine from the blueline. One of the odds-on favorites to win the Norris Trophy in June, Green has been MIA in the series with only two assists, no goals, six penalty minutes while compiling a minus-3 rating through four games. “He tries to do too much,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said at the pregame skate. Last night, in nearly 30 minutes of ice time, Green took two shots, committed a penalty and did not record a point.
• The Rangers took the game they had to have. If Washington would have won last night, the Caps were going to take the series. Instead, the Rangers have three opportunities to close out the series and prepare for Eastern Conference top seed Boston Bruins. However, before the Rangers can advance, Sean Avery will have to dial it down. He very nearly killed any chance his team had by committing two mindless penalties in the third period. The Rangers have a 3-1 series edge because Henrik Lundqvist is the best player on the ice.
• Next game: Game 5, Friday night, 7 (MSG) at the Verizon Center.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 3:55 PM
<< Home