NHL Playoffs: Canadiens beat Rangers 4-3 in OT

Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec scored with 18 seconds remaining in the third before Alexander Radulov won it in overtime with 1:26 left on the clock. “You face adversity along the way, you regroup and go back to work”. Plekanec then passed it down low to Brendan Gallagher, who was on the goal line to goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s right. Artturi Lehkonen converted on the ensuing power play, burying a pass from Brendan Gallagher to make it 1-0.

Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, left, gets up off the ice while other players scuffle nearby during the first period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers, Sunday, April 16, 201.

Still, it was the execution, not the effort that could be faulted in Sunday night’s 3-1 loss to the Canadiens in Game 3 as the Rangers now trail the first-round series, 2-1.

Game 2: Predators at Blackhawks, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN (Predators lead 1-0) – After stealing Game 1 at United Center, the Predators will look for the Windy City sweep before the series shifts to the Music City.

The Rangers undercut Lundqvist’s strong early play with two ill-advised penalties that led to power-play goals on which he had little chance.

“But it’s just one game”. “I think there’s a lot of emotion that goes behind these games, a lot of importance”.

It was the first career National Hockey League playoff goal for Lehkonen.

“They threw a lot of pucks at our net, but I don’t think there were too many chances. We did a pretty good job”.

“No”, Lehkonen said with a smile. Personally, as I wrote in this morning’s blog, I wouldn’t be shocked if there is movement within the lines to generate more offense.

With the Rangers doing exactly what they needed to by defeating the Canadiens in Montreal, the home-ice advantage has shifted to NY.

The Rangers will look to reward their fans that have endured a rough season on home ice. That was opening up some space in the middle. We are going to need our best from everyone and from myself. “You’ve got just to handle them in stride”.

One thing is for sure, we are in for an absolute battle the rest of the way. “Our top players need to find their game, and they obviously don’t have it right now”. At their best, the Rangers play a quick puck movement, up-tempo, pressuring style of hockey.

All the Habs needed was a spark, and it came from a 21-year-old rookie, Lehkonen.

“He’s day to day”, Canadiens coach Claude Julien said to the Montreal Gazette. The team failed to win against the Canadiens, dropping their sixth straight home playoff game. Everything is magnified. Too much can be made of every detail. He’s excited about playing. The sloppy play was certainly a cause for the bad loss on Sunday.

Despite have two power plays, the Rangers didn’t score in the first period, and they were also out-shot by the Montreal Canadiens 10-6. They have been flawless on the penalty kill but can’t score on the power-play and in the playoffs we always talk about how key it is. How he prepares his body, how he acts after different kind of results and stuff like that.

When the real fracas broke out, Ott found himself on the outside looking in, but it didn’t take long for him to take the hint and join in on the party.

The Oilers didn’t get more disciplined in Game 2, they just performed far better when short-handed. If anyone wants to do a Game 3 recap blog and/or a Game 4 preview blog, please let me know ASAP. “We’ve been able to build on it game after game”.