Rangers ice Canadiens 7-2 during NHL ‘Frozen Frenzy’
On a night when all 32 NHL teams were in action, the New York Rangers continued to prove why they’re among the League’s elite, dismantling the Montreal Canadiens 7-2 at Bell Centre in their “Frozen Frenzy” game on Tuesday.
The Rangers (5-0-1) extended their season-opening point streak to a franchise-record six games and improved to 4-0-0 on the road, finishing off a sweep of a three-game road trip. They’ve scored at least four goals in the first six games of a season for the first time in their history, and this was the second time they scored at least six times.
Filip Chytil led the way with two goals and an assist, as 12 different skaters recorded at least one point for the Rangers. Kaapo Kakko scored his first goal of the season and had two assists; and Reilly Smith and Braden Schneider each had a goal and an assist.
Mika Zibanejad and Jonny Brodzinski also scored for New York, and Artemi Panarin extended his point streak to six games with a first-period assist.
The Rangers outshot the Canadiens 45-23, though Igor Shesterkin still had to make a string of Grade-A saves in the game.
Nick Suzuki scored both goals for Montreal, which has lost four straight (0-3-1).
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New York Rangers 7 – Montreal Canadiens 2
The first period was played at a frenetic pace, with scoring chances plentiful for each side. The difference was that the Rangers made the most of their opportunities and the Canadiens largely failed — or were stymied — on theirs.
The Rangers scored three goals on their first seven shots in the opening 6:40. They added a fourth goal on their 10th shot at 11:05 to take a 4-0 lead and knock Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault out of the game.
It all started with Zibanejad wiring a shot into the net just 54 seconds into the game after a pretty passing sequence featuring Panarin and Adam Fox, who earned assists on the goal. Before the Rangers rushed up ice, Jacob Trouba blocked two shots, including an opportunity at a gaping net by Lane Hutson.
Both ends of that play set the tone for the Rangers capitalizing and the Canadiens failing to do so.
A critical mistake by the Canadiens dropped them into a 2-0 hole at 2:05. Schneider sent the puck the length of the ice for an apparent icing and several Canadiens slowed down expecting a whistle that never was blown. Instead, Adam Edstrom was first to the puck and he whipped a pass into the slot where Brodzinski snapped a one-timer past Montembeault for his first goal of the season.
The Rangers capitalized on another egregious mistake by the Canadiens to make it 3-0 at 6:40. Smith stripped Hutson of the puck in the neutral zone and took off on a breakaway, finishing with a short-side snipe from right win for his second goal with the Rangers.
Smith made a sweet touch pass to Chytil for a power-play goal that ended Montembeault’s night at 11:05. Cayden Primeau replaced Montembeault at that point, and ended up making 32 saves on 35 shots the rest of the way.
At the other end of the ice, Shesterkin made 10 saves in the first period, including several quality stops. Suzuki finally put the Canadiens on the board with his first of the season at 12:52, burying a pass from behind the net by Josh Anderson. Ryan Lindgren, playing his first game of the season after sustaining an upper-body injury in a preseason fight, was a shade late getting to Suzukl on the goal.
Three minutes later, Suzuki rifled a right-wing shot off the post. For good measure, Chytil chipped a shot off the post at the other end in the final minutes of the period.
Speaking of hitting the post, the Rangers caught iron twice in the first eight minutes of the second period. First Panarin from right wing, and then Alexis Lafreniere from the right circle on a 2-on-1 with Panarin.
In between those Rangers chances, Suzuki scored again for the Canadiens. Suzuki saw on opening on the power play, burst past Lindgren, and tucked a backhand shot past a lunging Shesterkin to make it 4-2 at 5:35 of the second period.
Schneider answered back for the Rangers, when he snapped a shot from the top of the left circle through traffic and past Primeau at 8:57. His second goal of the season was set up by a neat cross-ice pass from Chytil, who was flying all night for the Rangers.
Before the second period ended, the Rangers hit the post again, this time Will Cuylle was victimized. And midway through the third period, Panarin rang iron again on a power-play shot.
That power play came about when Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson received an instigator penalty for starting a fight with Trouba at 7:11 of the third period. Matheson took exception to Trouba laying out Justin Barron with a thunderous hit. Barron was helped from the ice dazed and bloodied; Trouba was not penalized for the hit.
New York’s third line iced the game when Chytil and Kakko scored 38 seconds apart, beginning at 15:41 of the third. Cuylle assisted on each score and now has five assists this season.
The seven goals scored by the Rangers were the most they scored in Montreal since a 7-3 win on Feb. 22, 1972.
Their work done for now on the road, the Rangers return home to host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
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