Dan Girardi leads Road Warrior Rangers to win in game 3 (NYR 2 v PIT 1)
Gutsy. That’s the best word to describe the effort of the Rangers and in particular, Dan Girardi. The Rangers longest tenured defenseman dug in deep, dished out two assist, delivered four hits and blocked 6 shots.
The effort earned the Rangers a crucial game three win and the Broadway Hat for Dan Girardi. His night started when he moved the puck to Keith Yandle who hit Carl Hagelin on a breakaway.
Hagelin came in on Marc-Andre Fleury with the puck on edge. Former goalie and MSG Analyst, Stephen Valiquette stated that Hagelin did the best thing possible with that puck and that’s slam it towards the goal. The wobbling puck fooled Fleury and it snuck under him.
[su_quote cite=”Blueshirts United” url=”https://www.blueshirtsunited.com/article/rangers-win-game-three-road-2-1″]”That was a perfect pass by (Yandle)–he doesn’t have much room to make that play and that was the only spot he could put the puck,” Hagelin said after the game. “Any time you are on the road, especially a first game like this, you try and quiet the crowd. It’s huge. Scoring that first goal gives us a lot of confidence.”[/su_quote]
In the 2nd period, Marc Staal made a great play by purposely shooting the puck 2 feet wide and find Chris Kreider for a left side chip in goal. For Kreider it was his 1st goal of the playoffs and hopefully that gets him going.
The Penguins resorted to bumping Henrik Lundqvist in order to try and get him off his game. Sidney Crosby was the worst culprit as he purposely bumped Lundqvist in the head after he had trapped the puck. Alain Vigneault was asked after the game about it and was visibly annoyed. “I’ve pointed it out. What else can I do? Nothing else I can do or say.”
In the third period, Pittsburgh just blitzed the Rangers as they tried to find a goal. It finally came after immense pressure and some lucky bounces. Patric Hornqvist found a puck in front of the crease and pushed Marc Staal out of the way. He then chipped it over Lundqvist and it was “buckle your seatbelt” time.
As the Penguins came in waves, Girardi’s game elevated. His defensive play tonight to keep Crosby and Malkin in check was notable. Late in the third he had a huge block to preserve the one goal lead. When the final buzzer sounded he was probably a little more battered and bruised but the win was secured.
NOTES
AV on Lundqvist getting bumped throughout the series: “I’ve pointed it out. What else can I do? Nothing else I can do or say.”
— Seth Rothman (@RothmanHockey) April 21, 2015
Dan Girardi blocked six shots tonight while skating a team-high 26:06. Of that 26:06, 14:20 was against Sidney Crosby. Excellent performance — Seth Rothman (@RothmanHockey) April 21, 2015
Henrik Lundqvist says Rangers battle level was higher: “It was a big win for us. We needed to come back strong and play the right way.”
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossRecord) April 21, 2015
HIGHLIGHTS & INTERVIEWS
More About:New York Rangers Analysis New York Rangers Games
Read This Next
