Rangers win, move closer to Eastern title
Henrik Lundqvist covers the puck as Stu Bickel of the Rangers keeps Aaron Palushaj of the Canadiens away from a possible rebound. (March 30, 2012) Credit: David Pokress
Timing is everything. All of a sudden, the Rangers' power play is clicking at the right time. With two power-play goals for the second consecutive game, the Blueshirts won their fourth straight game Friday night and moved a step closer to clinching the Eastern Conference title with a 4-1 vanquishing of the Montreal Canadiens.
With 107 points, the Blueshirts have one more than the idle St. Louis Blues and the most in the NHL. After two losses to the Islanders, the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Sabres, 4-3, on Friday night, and have 102 points, so the magic number for the Rangers to clinch the Eastern title is 110. Each team has four games to play, including a head-to-head match in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
"Our five-on-five play has been great all year, penalty kill has been tremendous," said defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who scored once on the man-advantage and twice in a game for the first time in his three-year career. "There's a little bit of urgency and we know if we get our power play going for the playoffs, and our whole game clicking, we'll be a tough team to stop."
The difference in the struggling power play, which was 2-for-23 before the Winnipeg game and ranked 28th in the league, is that "we're moving bodies, we're not so stationary or predictable, working all areas of the ice, backdoor plays and getting shots on net," said Del Zotto, who also scored shorthanded against Winnipeg on Wednesday. "That's the key, so the defense can't set up."
It was the Rangers' 50th win, reaching that plateau for the third time in franchise history along with 52 wins in 1993-94 and 50 in 1991-92. The No. 1 seed and home-ice advantage in the playoffs, which no Rangers team has had since 1996, is within reach.
Starting his season-high eighth straight game, Henrik Lundqvist, who had 19 saves, came up just short of his ninth shutout when Rene Bourque scored at 17:31 of the third.
For the Canadiens, their sixth loss in seven games left them mired in last place in the East with just 72 points, at 29-35-14.
Marian Gaborik put the Rangers ahead early, scoring his 39th goal at 8:56 of the first after whiffing on a bouncing puck in the slot, then connecting to put the puck past Carey Price. Gaborik is one goal from 40 for the third time in his career and the second time in three seasons in New York.
Brad Richards, who also had two assists, scored on a stick-side wrister at the 30-second mark of the second on a carry-over power play. Only Evgeni Malkin has more points in March than Richards (seven goals, 15 assists).
On their fourth power play, Price could only get a piece of Del Zotto's slapper from the left point for the 3-0 lead at 8:17 of the third. Del Zotto scored at even strength at 16:58.
"It's the right time of year," for the power play to catch fire, said Ryan Callahan, who before the game was given the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award via fan vote for the third time. "Special teams are big in the playoffs and when you knock a few in, your confidence grows."
McDonald gave an inspirational speech on the ice just before the game, calling for the Rangers "to play like champions and we'll see you in June."
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