Carey Price (left) of the Montreal Canadiens make a save during their NHL game against NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday. (AFP)
By Andrew Gross/The Record (TNS)
The Rangers got schooled again, meaning they’re probably giving thanks they only have to face the Canadiens one more time in the regular season.
The Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens beat the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, showing their superiority in puck battles, passing and defense.
Carey Price made 22 saves for the Canadiens (17-4-2) before exiting after the second period with an apparent leg injury. Meanwhile, Henrik Lundqvist was pulled for Antti Raanta at 9:06 of the third period after Max Pacioretty’s power-play goal — the Canadiens’ second — made it 5-1. Lundqvist faced 24 shots for the Rangers (16-4-2), who had a nine-game home winning streak snapped. The five goals also represented the highest output by a Rangers’ opponent this season.
Devante Smith-Pelly, playing on the top line for the injured Brendan Gallagher, scored twice. That included a goal just 17 seconds into the third period to make it 3-1 and reverse the momentum the Rangers got late in the second period. Alex Galchenyuk made it 4-1 at 1:29 and the rout was on.
The teams meet again March 26 in Montreal.
No matter how many games the Rangers have won through the best start in franchise history, Alain Vigneault always seems to loop back to getting “schooled” in an early-season game at Montreal.
“We got a lesson in hockey,” the coach said again on Wednesday morning.
So this rematch was a chance for the Rangers to prove to themselves and their coach how far they’ve come since that 3-0 defeat on Oct. 15.
“It was early on in the season but it was a bit of a wake-up call to how we need to play to beat elite teams and win games,” Marc Staal said. “We just weren’t happy with the way we played that game. We’re certainly playing better than we did that night.”
The loss to the Canadiens, as they were outshot 32-25 and barely tested Price, left the Rangers with a 3-2-0 mark. They didn’t lose again in regulation until this past Thursday’s 2-1 defeat at Tampa Bay (14 games later).
Yet Vigneault frequently referred to the loss to the Canadiens through that stretch, which included a nine-game winning streak that fell one short of matching the franchise record.
The Canadiens, again, were the better team early Wednesday. The Rangers, hemmed in their zone for long stretches, were spotty in defensive assignments and not quick enough to the puck.
Sven Andrighetto gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 4:45 of the first period as he knocked in a backhanded feed from Lars Eller at the crease off P.K. Subban’s initial point shot. Kevin Hayes’ turnover started the sequence.
Lundqvist kept it a one-goal deficit as he stuck out his right pad to deny Dale Weise at the post, then got a piece of David Desharnais’ open look at 6:28 after Weise collected the puck behind the crease.
Devante Smith-Pelly made it 2-0 at 2:25 of the second period, getting free at the crease and dunking in Max Pacioretty’s feed from behind the net.
But the Rangers finally capitalized on their third power-play opportunity of the second period as Ryan McDonagh’s rising shot from the blue line was deflected by Nash through Price, who had his shutout streak against the Rangers end at 200:26. Nash has scored in three straight games.
There’s no reason to think the two teams, who met in the 2014 Eastern Conference final with the Rangers winning in six games after Price was injured in a collision with left wing Chris Kreider in Game 1, won’t be battling for conference supremacy all season.
