Girardi, McDonagh defend but also 'offend'
Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Dec. 5, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh were being counted on for their defense Monday night, as always, and they provided that, blocking eight shots between them and helping to keep Zach Parise's line off the scoreboard.
And Girardi provided a little something extra, in the form of a blast past Martin Brodeur 53 seconds into the third period, the winning goal in the Rangers' 3-0 Game 1 victory.
That goal was the ninth from a Rangers defenseman this postseason, out of 32 total, and the fourth game-winner from a defense that produced only five winning goals in the regular season.
"It's a tight-checking game out there, and you need some offense where you can get it," John Tortorella said. "Danny has made some really big plays at the offensive end right on through the playoffs."
Girardi and McDonagh's main responsibility was to be on the ice every time Parise was; Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto got the assignment to play against Ilya Kovalchuk's line. McDonagh was especially good in the first period, recovering after Rangers turnovers to break up Parise's breakaway try, then forcing Kovalchuk into a low-percentage backhand on a semi-break that Henrik Lundqvist swallowed up.
"You don't want to be chasing guys down like that," McDonagh said.
Things were worse for the Rangers in the second period, when the Devils took advantage of some sloppiness in their own zone to create scoring chances.
"It's not always about looking for the direct pass onto a stick blade. You're just looking for open ice, using the glass," McDonagh said. "We just stayed with it."
And although the Rangers looked like a tired team forced to chase for a lot of the second, their defense stayed with its ability to jump into the play. Girardi came right off the bench in the third and skated on to a patient drop pass by rookie Chris Kreider, firing the shot through Derek Stepan's screen and behind Brodeur.
That turned the tide and the Rangers resumed their hard forechecking and cycling, getting more chances and a later power-play goal by Kreider to clinch it.
"They have some skilled forwards. They're going to get their chances," Girardi said. "We got ours in the third and we capitalized."
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