B R O A D W A Y***B L U E S H I R T S

rival. said:

If Getzlaf played the game after his gruesome jaw injury, I can't see Stephan sitting the next one out. He played the rest of the game injured without protection. They'll fit him for a cage.

Yeah, he should be back for game 5.

The officiating is suspect

Here's some postgame notes and quotes without commentary on the Academy Award winning performances by various Canadiens..


The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2, in overtime tonight in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers lead the best-of-seven series, three games to one.

- The Blueshirts have posted an 11-7 record in the playoffs this year, including a 5-4 record at home.

- New York has posted a 12-1 playoff series record in 13 all-time best-of-seven playoff series in which they led three games to one after Game 4.

- The Rangers have won at least one home game in 14 straight playoff series, dating back to the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2007 against Atlanta. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rangers have the second longest active streak for consecutive playoff series with a home victory (Boston – 15).

- Each of the Rangers’ last two contests has gone to overtime. The last time the Blueshirts played two consecutive playoff contests that went to overtime was Game 1 and Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Philadelphia on May 21-22, 1995. The last time the Rangers played consecutive playoff games that went to overtime at home was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 27, 1994 vs. New Jersey and Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on May 31, 1994 vs. Vancouver.

- The Rangers defeated the Canadiens for the first time in a playoff game in overtime since Game 5 of the Quarterfinals on Apr. 16, 1974 at Montreal (Ron Harris – 4:07 of overtime).

- The Rangers were 7-for-8 (14:33) on the penalty kill, and registered a shorthanded goal in the contest. The Rangers had successfully killed off 27 power plays prior to allowing the goal with the man-advantage. New York is 37-39 (94.9%) on the penalty kill in its last 12 games. The shorthanded tally was New York’s first in the playoffs since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Apr. 9, 2008 at New Jersey (Ryan Callahan), and the Blueshirts’ first shorthanded goal at home in postseason play since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 23, 1997 vs. Philadelphia (Esa Tikkanen).

- The Rangers have allowed two goals or fewer in 13 of 18 games in the playoffs this year, and in six of nine playoff games at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts rank first in the NHL in goals against per game in the playoffs (2.11)

- The Blueshirts were 48-for-79 (61%) on faceoffs in the contest. Three of four Rangers who took at least 15 faceoffs won 50% or more of draws, and two players won at least 75% of faceoffs they took.

Player Notes

- Martin St. Louis tallied the game-winning goal in overtime and led the team with five shots on goal in 21:01 of ice time. St. Louis’ goal was his first playoff overtime goal since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on June 5, 2004 at Calgary as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. St. Louis is tied for seventh among active players with 10 career game-winning goals in the playoffs. The Rangers forward has tied a playoff career-high with a six game point streak (four goals, three assists over the span), and leads all skaters with three goals in the Eastern Conference Finals. St. Louis is tied for the team lead in goals (six) and game-winning goals (two), and leads the team in points (13) in the playoffs.

- Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves to record his 41st career playoff victory and improve to 11-7 in the playoffs this year. The Rangers goaltender has also posted a 5-4 record at home in the playoffs this year. Lundqvist’s 11 playoffs wins are the most he has had in one year in his career, and he is tied with Mike Richter for first on the team’s all-time playoff wins list. Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in 14 of 18 playoff games this year, and leads the NHL in wins, GAA (1.98) and SV% (.931) in the playoffs. The Rangers goaltender tallied his first career playoff point with an assist in the contest.

- Carl Hagelin opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal, tallied an assist on the game-winning goal, and posted a plus-two rating in 23:44 of ice time. The tally was Hagelin’s first career shorthanded goal and point in postseason play. The Rangers forward has registered 11 points (seven goals, four assists) and a plus-eight rating in his last 13 playoff games at Madison Square Garden. Hagelin has recorded the first goal of the contest in consecutive games. The Rangers forward is tied for the team lead in goals (six), and is tied for fifth on the team in points (10) in the playoffs. Hagelin has established playoff career-highs in goals, assists (four), and points in the playoffs this year.

- Derick Brassard recorded a goal, and led all skaters with 18 faceoffs wins (18-for-24; 75%) in 14:37 of ice time. Brassard has tallied five points (four goals, one assist) in his last five games. The Rangers forward is tied for third on the team in goals (five) in the playoffs.

- Brian Boyle recorded an assist, posted a plus-one rating, and recorded two shots on goal in 14:53 of ice time. The Rangers forward has won 34 of 53 faceoffs (64.2%) in the Eastern Conference Finals.

- Ryan McDonagh registered an assist, posted a plus-two rating, and blocked three shots in a team-high, 30:13 of ice time. The Rangers defenseman leads all skaters with seven points (two goals, five assists) in the series. McDonagh leads the team in average ice time (25:08), is tied for second on the team in assists (seven), is tied for fifth on the team in points (10), and is tied for second on the team in blocked shots (39) in the playoffs.

- Dan Girardi recorded an assist, tied a single-game playoff career-high with a plus-three rating, and was credited with three hits in 27:57 of ice time. The Rangers defenseman has registered an assist in consecutive games, and ranks second among defensemen on the team in assists (six) and points (seven) in the playoffs. Girardi also leads the NHL in blocked shots (48) in the playoffs. Girardi skated in his 82nd career playoff game, tying Brian Leetch for fourth on the team’s all-time playoff games played list.

- Brad Richards tallied an assist and posted a plus-one rating in 16:26 of ice time. The Rangers forward is tied for fifth on the team in assists (six) and is tied for second on the team in points (11) in the playoffs.

Quotebook

Martin St. Louis on the game winning goal…



“Good play on the wall by Richie (Brad Richards) to keep the puck in, and obviously Hags (Carl Hagelin) being in good defensive position, also offensive position to be able to slide it over to me. I felt I had room, and I tried to trust what I saw, and obviously I’ve gone to that side quite a bit that last few games and he’s made some good saves on me. Sometimes you just have to keep trusting what you see and I was fortunate to get it by him.”



Carl Hagelin on the team…



“I think for us it has been key all year, just to take it day by day. We are obviously up 3-1, but we know how this can turn if we don’t do the things we need to do. Our focus now is on the next game and to play Ranger hockey.”



Brad Richards on needing one more win…



“We’ll talk about it. This is far from over. I remember sitting in here down 3-1 against Pittsburgh. They will feel bad tonight, but tomorrow they will wake up in front of their home crowd and once that game starts 3-1, you throw that out the window and it is back in the battle again. We have to realize the longer it goes the more life and more belief they get, so it’s going to be a very important start to the next game.”

JT miller is not expected to make the trip due to an upper body injury after being shoved into the goal post by a canadian player.

Rangers on the cover of SI this week.