Canadiens beat Rangers on Radulov's OT goal
MONTREAL -- Alexander Radulov scored with 1:26 left in the first overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers on Friday night at the Bell Centre.
The series is now tied 1-1, with Game 3 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Michael Grabner, Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello scored in regulation for the Rangers while New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 54 shots.
Jeff Petry, Paul Byron and Tomas Plekanec replied for Montreal. Carey Price made 35 saves.
The Rangers got off to a better start than in the series opener, controlling the play and getting the game's first three shots.
But Montreal made the most of an opportunity to score its first goal of the series. With Lundqvist's stick broken behind his net, Petry took a Phillip Danault feed in the right circle and waited before wiring one into the net at 4:05.
A bobbled play by the Canadiens opened the door for the Rangers to tie the game at 13:48. After taking a bouncing pass that landed in his skates, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu dove to keep the puck in at the blue line but was beaten to it by Grabner, who skated up the ice and deked Price before slipping it behind him.
Byron made it 2-1 Canadiens when he turned a perfect backhand feed from Brendan Gallagher behind the net into a shot from the right circle less than two minutes later.
The game's feistiness reached a new level in the second period. Shortly after Kevin Hayes had a chance to tie the game, a battle in the corner led to Shea Weber unleashing on J.T. Miller, with Zuccarello and Steve Ott also engaging in pushing and shoving.
Nash tied it shortly thereafter. With the Canadiens slow to change, Nick Holden sent the sniper a stretch pass and Nash took advantage of an out-of-position hit by Montreal to send one glove side on Price.
Zuccarello gave the Rangers their first lead of the night at 14:47 when he redirected Brendan Smith's shot-pass from the point into the net.
Plekanec brought the Bell Centre to a roar when he tied it with a redirect of Radulov's pass with 18 seconds remaining in regulation. The goal set a Canadiens record for the latest game-tying goal in the franchise's playoff history, eclipsing Jacques Lemaire's previous mark of 24 seconds set in 1975.
NOTES: Montreal kept the same lineup, leaving C Torrey Mitchell, W/C Brian Flynn, RW Michael McCarron and D Brandon Davidson as the healthy scratches. ... The Rangers kept their winning lineup intact, scratching C Brandon Pirri, LW Pavel Buchnevich, LW Matt Puempel, D Adam Clendening and D Kevin Klein.