2012 NHL Playoffs: Rangers Vs. Senators - Game 6 Notes
- Well that was sort of exciting, right? Give the New York Rangers lots of credit for the win Monday. It was vintage Rangers. They grinded in the tough areas of the ice, fought back, scored some goals and shoved the Ottawa Senators' momentum back down their throats for the win. It wasn't pretty, but how many wins this season have been?
- For those of you calling out Derek Stepan (criticism he deserved) he stepped up in a big way in Game 6 (no pun intended). A goal and two assists tossed in with a solid game in both zones? Not only is it nice to see a home-grown player succeed in the playoffs, but his success made the Rangers so much more dangerous. Suddenly the Rangers had two legit scoring lines the Senators' defense needed to worry about. And he can be a very dangerous player, which he was Monday.
- Henrik Lundqvist was superb again tonight. So essentially, I'm telling you the Rangers had another hockey game. Either way, he made three jaw-dropping saves to keep the Rangers in it when the score was 1-0. You know when announcers go, "remember that save?" Lundqvist had about five of those tonight.
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- Brad Richards had one of his best games of the year Monday night. His pass to Stepan for the Rangers' first goal was stunning. He scored a gargantuan goal to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead and had tons of scoring chances. He needs to be an offensive leader for this team, and he was Monday.
- Chris Kreider ladies and gentlemen. Remember when Kreider missed a puck just laying in the crease in Game 3 because he was so excited? Well he showed how comfortable he was in Game 6 when he absolutely rifled a Stepan pass into the back of the net. What a shot and what a goal for him. It was also nice to see him get bigger minutes (he played nearly 11 minutes) but more importantly, important minutes. John Tortorella had him on the ice with less than two minutes to go. Oh yeah, his goal was also the game-winner.
- Chris Neil. I mean, what can you say. Let's give him credit, he's been kicking the Rangers ass all series. Now, that's mainly because of the officials seem to miss his dirty plays that seem to occur once a shift. What a vile hockey player. I also loved how he couldn't care less about injuring Brian Boyle but then whines and cries over and over again about the Michael Del Zotto hit. The hit was clean. That doesn't matter to Neil though, he's just mad Del Zotto lowered the boom on him. What a joke he is. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Or get annihilated by Del Zotto. He also threatened Del Zotto after the game. To the media. As in, it was printed in the papers today. Will he get a hearing from the NHL? Of course not, it's Chris Neil. But I bet Lundqvist hears from the NHL for calling out the officials.
- Speaking of embarrassments to the league, how on God's green earth is that a goal? It's one thing for the officials on the ice to miss it (which makes sense, since they've missed a lot this series) but the war room in Toronto? Inconclusive evidence that the puck was kicked in? Is this serious? This is a professional sports league, and it's the playoffs. Am I missing something here?
- Alright, the Rangers did it the hard way, but they reclaimed home ice. Madison Square Garden should be absolutely rocking for Game 7. All that pressure on the Rangers, which mounted when New York was down 1-0 after the first, is now back onto the Senators.
Thoughts guys?
