Eastern Final Game 2 - Rangers beat Carey Price-less Habs to take 2-0 series lead
Montreal's playoff run is officially on life support.
The Canadiens dropped Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at the Bell Centre Monday night, losing by a final of 3-1 and leaving them with the grim realization that their season may be over before too long.
With Carey Price out of the rest of the series after suffering a lower-body injury in Game 1, the Canadiens opted to skip over backup goalie Peter Budaj, who gave up three goals on five shots after replacing Price Saturday afternoon, and instead pegged Dustin Tokarski as the man between the pipes.
Tokarski played in 41 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal's AHL affiliate, this season. Tokarski is an NHL veteran of a whole 10 games, split between seven with the Tampa Bay Lightning and three with the Habs this season.
Tokarski actually played pretty decent for something that screamed 7-2 again for the Habs. For starting in his first-career Stanley Cup playoff game in Montreal, the 24-year-old only gave up three goals while making 27 saves. The goalie isn't the reason why the Canadiens find themselves down 2-0 in the series.
Well, that's not entirely true.
And that's because of Henrik "Hank, Henry, King, Stopper of Everything and Anything" Lundqvist.
King Henrik has been utterly unbeatable dating back to Game 5 vs the Penguins last series. Since the Rangers dropped Game 4 on home ice vs the Pens, the Blueshirts have won five straight games, with Lundqvist stopping 156 of 162 shots faced in those five games. Six goals allowed in just under 300 minutes of action.
If the Canadiens have any hope of getting back into the series vs the Rags, it starts with beating Lundqvist, not fretting about who's in net on their side.
New York Rangers @ Montreal Canadiens: 3 - 1, New York leads the series 2 - 0
The Canadiens dropped Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at the Bell Centre Monday night, losing by a final of 3-1 and leaving them with the grim realization that their season may be over before too long.
King in the North: Hank Lundqvist has the Rangers two games away from a Stanley Cup Final (via ESPN.com) |
With Carey Price out of the rest of the series after suffering a lower-body injury in Game 1, the Canadiens opted to skip over backup goalie Peter Budaj, who gave up three goals on five shots after replacing Price Saturday afternoon, and instead pegged Dustin Tokarski as the man between the pipes.
Tokarski played in 41 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal's AHL affiliate, this season. Tokarski is an NHL veteran of a whole 10 games, split between seven with the Tampa Bay Lightning and three with the Habs this season.
Tokarski actually played pretty decent for something that screamed 7-2 again for the Habs. For starting in his first-career Stanley Cup playoff game in Montreal, the 24-year-old only gave up three goals while making 27 saves. The goalie isn't the reason why the Canadiens find themselves down 2-0 in the series.
Well, that's not entirely true.
And that's because of Henrik "Hank, Henry, King, Stopper of Everything and Anything" Lundqvist.
King Henrik has been utterly unbeatable dating back to Game 5 vs the Penguins last series. Since the Rangers dropped Game 4 on home ice vs the Pens, the Blueshirts have won five straight games, with Lundqvist stopping 156 of 162 shots faced in those five games. Six goals allowed in just under 300 minutes of action.
If the Canadiens have any hope of getting back into the series vs the Rags, it starts with beating Lundqvist, not fretting about who's in net on their side.
New York Rangers @ Montreal Canadiens: 3 - 1, New York leads the series 2 - 0