The NHL playoffs schedule has the NY Rangers up 1-0 in the series standings after winning Game 1 over the Montreal Canadiens by the score of 7-2 and now Game 2 will be on Monday on the NBC Sports Network at 8 pm ET from the Bell Centre and New York will have some momentum after their offensive barrage in the first matchup between Original Six franchises in the eastern conference finals.
The Rangers started things off early and did not take their foot off the throttle, as they scored two goals in the first period and two in the second to take a 4-1 lead into the third period. Martin St. Louis continued his strong play since his mother passed away and he scored the first goal of the game and had an assist to help the Rangers and now he and the team will attend the funeral for his mother together on Sunday before the next game.
Henrik Lundqvist once again showed why he is one of the best goalies in the league with his performance and he had 20 saves in the game and performed well at the Bell Centre, where he hadn't won since back in 2009. The Rangers gave him plenty of support on the offensive end of the ice and he allowed one goal in the second period before allowing another towards the end of the final frame. The Rangers scored three power play goals and had two goals at the end of the second within 50 seconds of each other to take out any momentum Montreal had after they scored.
Chris Kreider has been a great force for the Rangers and after helping the team snap a power play streak in the last series against the Penguins, he scored another goal in this game and he also had an assist to set up another score. The Rangers needed that goal, as it came when the team was down 3-1 against the Penguins and they have not lost since and now they have won three straight games and are heading into the second game of the series up 1-0.
St. Louis has played well under immense emotional pressure and now the Rangers have the chance to go up 2-0 with a win on Monday night and after that, the team heads back to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the series. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said the team has done a good job at staying focused with what has been going on and now they have won at the Bell Centre with Lundqvist in net for the first time in years.
