Rangers polish off Canadiens with 3-1 win
NEW YORK -- Mats Zuccarello scored two goals and Henrik Lundqvist capped a brilliant first-round series with 27 saves as the New York Rangers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens with a 3-1 win in Game 6 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers won the best-of-seven series 4-2 and will face the winner of the series between the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins.
Zuccarello scored both goals in the second period after the Rangers fell behind 1-0 after the first period. Derek Stepan capped the win with an empty-net goal with 17.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
Lundqvist stopped 195 of 206 shots in six games and made a stretching left pad save to deny Tomas Plekanec and preserve the win in the final minutes.
Defenseman Alexei Emelin had the Canadiens' goal. Carey Price made 20 saves in a losing effort.
Emelin's first goal in his second game of the series put the Canadiens ahead 1-0 early in the first period. He took a pass from Alexander Radulov in the left faceoff circle and beat Lundqvist over his catching glove at 6:19.
Zuccarello turned the tide 2:26 into the second period with the Rangers' first power-play goal of the series. It was one that Price should have stopped, as the short-side shot from the right faceoff circle squeezed between his catching glove and body to even the score at 1.
Zuccarello put New York ahead 2-1 at 13:31. The Rangers beat the Canadiens to several loose pucks and it resulted in Kevin Hayes finding an unmarked Zuccarello near the net for the tap-in goal that put New York on top.
NOTES: Canadiens C Andrew Shaw (upper body) did not play. He had zero points in five games in the series. ... The Canadiens made three lineup changes, inserting RW Miachel McCarron, C Brian Flynn and D Brandon Davidson in place of Shaw, RW Torrey Mitchell and D Nathan Beaulieu. ... Rangers LW Tanner Glass was a healthy scratch for third straight game. The team went 3-0 in his absence. ... The Rangers won three straight games for the first time since mid-February.