Earlier tonight in New York, the Rangers had a second crack at advancing to their first cup final since winning it all back in 1994. Meanwhile the Habs were trying to keep their magical cup run alive by forcing a Game 7 back home in Montreal. 2 minutes into the game, the Rangers were pressing, Zuccarello came up the left wing and fired a shot and Tokarski made a great save, falling down and kept the five hole shut. The Rangers dominated the first period, outshooting the Canadiens 11-5. Early in the second, Haglin came into the offensive zone shorthanded and went for the rap-around and he was stopped. At the 5 minute mark of the period, Rangers powerplay and Derek Stephan wired a shot off the post. 5 minutes left in the second, Vanek came up the right wing and fired a backhand shot, it deflected off a Ranger stick and Lundquist robbed him with the blocker. Shortly after, Canadiens can't clear the puck and Boyle centred the puck to former Hab, Dominic Moore and he scored! 1-0 Rangers.
The shots were 8-8 in the second. In the third, Canadiens facing elmination and the Ranger played a 1-2-2 strategy to force the Habs to dump the puck in where the Rangers would easily get the puck and clear it. Tokarski made several amazing saves in the third, but the Montreal Canadiens offensive could not get by the Rangers D and because of that they lost 1-0 and their season has come to an end. The Habs only had 5 shots in the third and that was not good enough. Lundquist made 18 saves to lead the Rangers to their first final since 1994. In the loss Tokarski made 31 saves in the Canadiens longest cup run since 1993. This was the closets the Canadiens got to returning to the finals since losing in 2010 in the conference finals to the Philedelphia Flyers in 5 games. They were 3 wins away that year and this season they got a little closer as they were just 2 wins away. But it wasn't meant to be. Best of luck to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup final and good luck to the Montreal Canadiens for next season. The more experience these players get, the farther they will go in the future.
- Andrew Di Pardo
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