Rangers at Canadiens
After scoring the overtime winner on Thursday, Alex Galchenyuk nearly evened the Eastern Conference final at two games apiece, but his bid caromed off the crossbar late in the third period. Martin St. Louis provided the fireworks in the extra session, scoring to extend his point streak to six games and move the New York Rangers within one victory of their first Stanley Cup final appearance in 20 years. The Rangers look to put the nail in the coffin of the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, when they visit the Bell Centre for Game 5.
"It's tough to talk about. You don't want to get ahead of yourself," said Brad Richards, who joined St. Louis in capturing the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004. At the other end of the spectrum was Galchenyuk, who lamented his missed opportunity on Sunday. "I'm disappointed. I could have ended the game right there, and it would have been 2-2 heading back to Montreal," Galchenyuk said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE RANGERS: Although the end result was positive, New York put itself behind the 8-ball as it yielded as many power-play opportunities to Montreal in Game 4. "We have got to play smarter," said Carl Hagelin, who made the Canadiens pay by scoring a short-handed goal in the first period on Sunday. Coach Alain Vigneault refused to take issue with the officials for his team's march to the penalty box. "It was us," he said. "They were penalties (and we) can't do that."
ABOUT THE CANADIENS: P.K. Subban scored a goal for his first point of the series, blocked five shots and logged a game-high 33 minutes, 16 seconds of ice time on Sunday. Although the impressive performance ended up in a losing effort, the reigning Norris Trophy winner refused to hang his head while considering the team's predicament. "I've been down 3-1 in a series before, and the tide can turn really quick - so we're prepared to go home and play a good game," he said. Montreal has rallied from a pair of such deficits, besting Boston in 2004 and Washington six years later in first-round matchups.
OVERTIME
1. The Rangers last enjoyed a 3-1 series lead against the Capitals in a 2009 first-round series. New York lost the next three games.
2. Montreal converted just once on eight power-play opportunities and is 1-for-16 in the series.
3. St. Louis, Richards and LW Daniel Carcillo are the lone players on the Rangers' roster who have competed in the Stanley Cup final. Vigneault also coached Vancouver to the final in 2011 before falling to the Bruins.