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Jul 14 '19
NEW YORK, N. Baker Mayfield Womens Jersey .Y. - When other parts of their game are sputtering, the New York Rangers have two solid-gold assets to fall back on. Penalty killing and goaltending. Its a combo that has helped the Blueshirts to within one victory of their first Stanley Cup final in 20 years. And it has frustrated the Montreal Canadiens, who must win Game 5 Tuesday at the Bell Centre to stave off playoff extinction. With a 17.1 per cent strike rate — good for 19th during the regular season — the Montreal power play was hardly a well-oiled machine. But against the Rangers, the Canadiens are 1-for-17 with the man-advantage. Montreals lone power-play breakthrough came Sunday night in a 3-2 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden. And that P.K. Subban blast from the point was tempered by a short-handed goal by Carl Hagelin that opened the scoring. The Canadiens power play went 1-for-8 on a night where the Rangers spent 14.33 minutes or almost 22 per cent of the game a man short. "Give credit to our (penalty) killers and our goaltender," said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. "They did a real good job." That is nothing new. Prior to Subbans goal, the Rangers had killed off 27 straight penalties. New York is 37-for-39 (94.9 per cent) on the penalty kill in its last 12 games The penalty count was three to one against the Rangers by the 10-minute mark Sunday, the perfect scenario for a Montreal team looking for a decisive start to silence the Rangers crowd. "We had the opportunity on the power play but we didnt take advantage of it tonight," lamented Montreal coach Michel Therrien. "Yes, we scored a goal. It was a tying goal, but we gave up one, and that was the story of the game. I thought our power play had to be better." The Rangers go-to forward pairing on the power play is Hagelin and Brian Boyle. Hagelin is a speed merchant while the Boyle resume reads "big body, blocks shots, good on faceoffs," according to Vigneault. Boyle can also pass a bit, finding Hagelin all alone on a stretch pass deep from the New York end. Hagelin broke in alone, faked a shot and tucked a backhand between the legs of Dustin Tokarski at 7:18 for his sixth of the playoffs. It was the Rangers first short-handed goal in 70 playoff games, dating back to April 9, 2008. The New York penalty kill is smart and sleek. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has worked hard on his puck-handling and his defenders are well-positioned. If a Ranger gets to the puck first behind the net, for example, there is usually a teammate standing just feet away ready to dump it down the rink. "I think our guys do a good job whether it be on the forecheck coming back in the right positions and trying to create those battles where youve a chance to make a couple plays and get it out," said Vigneault. "When we dont, (our) goaltender stops the puck." In four games, Montreal has seven goals on 107 shots. While Tokarski has won kudos for his play in stepping in for the injured Carey Price, Lundqvists playoffs numbers are sparkling — a .931 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average. The Rangers have allowed two goals or less in 13 of their 18 playoff games., including six of the last seven games. New York ranks first in the NHL in goals against per game in the playoffs at 2.11. Sundays win was the 41st post-season win of Lundqvists career, tying him with Mike Richter for the most playoff victories in Rangers history. The 32-year-old Lundqvist ranks first in Rangers history in regulation wins with 309, eight more than Richters 301. In contrast, the 24-year-old Tokarski has 13 NHL games —10 in the regular season and three in the playoffs. Lundqvist picked up an assist on Derick Brassards second-period goal, his first in 85 post-season games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first Rangers goaltender to record a playoff assist since Mike Richter on May 11, 1997. With Game 5 coming up fast, the main Ranger talking point will be whether Derek Stepan can return from a broken jaw suffered in Game 3. On the weekend, he managed to drop by the arena to see his teammates before returning home to recuperate from surgery. Brassard, meanwhile, returned to the lineup Sunday after being knocked out of Game 1 early with an upper body injury and made his presence felt. In addition to his goal, he led all skaters with 18 faceoffs wins, winning 75 per cent of his 24 draws. New York is winning the faceoff battle. On Sunday, the Rangers took 48 of 79 draws for a 61 per cent success rate. Martin St. Louis hot hand is also of note. His OT winner Sunday Louis extended his point streak to six games (4-3—7), tying a playoff career high in the post-season. He leads the Ranges with 13 points in these playoffs. NOTES— Hagelin was Sundays recipient of the Broadway Hat, a battered black fedora given to the player judged by his peers to be most instrumental in a Rangers win ... The Rangers are 12-1 all-time when they lead a playoff series three games to one. Bernie Kosar Browns Jersey . The 55th-ranked Istomin saved 11 of 14 break points to win in just over two hours, setting up a second round meeting with Australian Marinko Matosevic. It was the Uzbeks third win in three matches against fifth-seeded Kohlschreiber, the 2007 and 2012 tournament winner. Joe Thomas Jersey . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks.MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves started an important eight-game stretch with an emphatic victory, handing the improving Washington Wizards their worst loss of the season. The Wizards hope they didnt lose something much more important than just one game. Love had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and J.J. Barea scored 17 points off the bench to help the Timberwolves beat Washington 120-98 on Friday night. Ricky Rubio had 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in 26 minutes, and Nikola Pekovic added 18 points and 10 boards for the Timberwolves. Minnesota turned the ball over only five times and got 44 points from its long-struggling reserves. "Its no secret we need more production from our bench," Love said. "That really helps out some of the starters, especially when every night isnt going to be great for all of our guys, one through five." John Wall had 26 points and seven assists for the Wizards, who missed a chance to win their fourth straight road game for the first time since March 2008. Nene added 13 points and five rebounds, but Bradley Beal had to be helped off the floor in the fourth quarter with a left leg injury. Beal scored 14 points in 26 minutes, but got tangled up on a screen by Wolves forward Luc Mbah a Moute with 4:25 to go. Beal was knocked to the ground and couldnt put any pressure on his left leg as Jan Vesely and Trevor Ariza helped him to the locker room. "With the knee injuries going on this year in the NBA, you just hope (Beals) isnt one of those ones that (is) devastating," Wall said. Preliminary X-rays were negative on Beals left knee and he will have an MRI on Saturday. "I was just trying to really get up and I really couldnt get up," Beal said. "Was hoping it wasnt anything too serious or too crazy. I mean, I was able to put a little weight on it afterwards. Just have to see with the MRI tomorrow." Beal missed nine games this season with a stress fracture in his right leg, and the Wizards count on his scoring as part of their dynamic young backcourt. Barea shot 8 of 10 andd Alexey Shved scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds to give the Wolves some much-needed balance between their starters and bench. Ozzie Newsome Browns Jersey. The Timberwolves slogged through a brutal opening two months, weathering injuries to Chase Budinger and Ronny Turiaf and the third-toughest schedule in the NBA to post a 13-15 record. It was underwhelming considering the high hopes they started the season with, but not wholly unexpected given the schedule. Now is the time they have to make a move if they want to be a factor in the Western Conference playoff race. They play six of the next eight at home and face five teams that are currently under .500. The Wolves got off to an awful start Friday, shooting 28 per cent in the first quarter. But they got to the free throw line 10 times to stay close, then made their move in the second quarter with 39 points. "It makes things a lot easier," coach Rick Adelman said of his second-team backcourt. "I like the way they played at both ends of the court. Weve got to get something going when those guys come in." The Wizards, meanwhile, were looking to end a four-game road swing with a statement. They beat the Knicks, Nets and Celtics to start the trip, then had five days off before facing the Timberwolves, and coach Randy Wittman wanted to see his young team build on the steps he believed they took in those victories. Wall scored 22 points in the first half, but just four in the second as the Wizards faded. The Wolves dictated play for most of the night, shooting 38 free throws to just 17 for Washington and outrebounding the Wizards 44-35, including 14-9 on the offensive end. "They were tougher than we were," Wittman said. "They pushed us around. We had no resistance. So weve got to put this game behind us but learn from it." NOTES: Former Timberwolves F Martell Webster scored 11 points for the Wizards. ... Wizards F Kevin Seraphin missed the game with a sore right knee. ... The Timberwolves game against Phoenix on Jan. 8 has been moved to an 8:30 p.m. CST start to accommodate ESPN. 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