Post-Game 7 Xtra: Quotes, Comments, Stats

                             I wrote a late sidebar on Henrik Lundqvist and had no room for this one quote, so here it is:

                              Daniel Alfredsson said this of his friend and Swedish National Team teammate: At times, he said, “it looked like they had three goalies on the ice.”

                             Lundqvist was terrific, but you cannot discount the work of the entire team, with 23 blocked shots in Game 7, as the Blueshirts staved off elimination for the second straight game and advanced to face the Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

                             “We were down 3-2 and came back,” said Marian Gaborik. “It tales a lot of character and a lot of grind and we did that.”

                            Coach John Tortorella used a cruder term: “We defended our asses off in the third period. They ramped it up on us in the second half.”                                                              

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                                Two defenseman, Marc Staal, who missed 36 games at the start of the season with post-concussion issues, and Dan Girardi, who was named an All-Star and carried the weight of the defense in Staal’s absence, were the goal scorers. You have to feel good for them.

                              “The last few weeks of the season and into the playoffs, I feel my confidence is back and I feel a lot better on the ice,” said Staal, whose goal was the third of his career in the postseason.  

                               “Kreider forced a turnover on the blue line and I just had a bunch of ice and went forward,” Staal said, recounting his huge opening score at 4:46 of the second period. Step made a great pass. I wasn’t expecting it that quick and I don’t think the goalie was either, so I had a bunch of open net to shoot it into.”  

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                               And naturally, the coach was effusive about rookie Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider, who were on the ice in the final minutes. “He (Kreider) has no fear. You saw where I had him at the end of the game. He deserved to be there. Hags was out there, too…They do such a great job of chasing down pucks and trying to put their team on their heels.”     

                             Said Kreider: “I think the veteran leadership is the reason this team has had such a successful season. I feel really lucky and blessed to have this opportunity. I’m just trying to keep my head down and work hard.” 

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                              So the season continues and the Rangers are undefeated in four Game 7s at the Garden.

                              “It’s a little sigh of relief….it’s definitely a big step for us,” said Derek Stepan, who has a goal and three assists in the last two games. “We’re excited with what happened. We know that we have to makes sure we come back and get ourselves refocused.”                       

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                           Some more numbers:  The Rangers are only the second team since 2005-06 to win Games 6 and 7  after losing Games 4 and 5…..It was the first time since 1950 that a team won a Game 7 without a forward scoring, according to Elias Sports Bureau…Girardi had 30 blocks in the six games…Ryan Callahan led all forwards in ice time 24:25…Brad Richards won 10 of 16 faceoffs….Prust’s assist was his first point of the series…