MONTREAL — The Rangers were that close — and then they weren’t.
And now they have to figure out a way to get over this.
Because as much as they would like to think otherwise, the manner in which they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Canadiens in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Friday night at Bell Centre can reverberate throughout a series.
The Rangers were less than 20 seconds away from taking a 2-0 series lead, but then Tomas Plekanec scored on a masterful goal-mouth deflection with 17.3 seconds remaining in regulation, and Alexander Radulov won it by jamming one through Henrik Lundqvist’s legs with just 1:26 remaining in overtime.
So now this best-of-seven contest shifts back to the Garden for Game 3 on Sunday night knotted at one game apiece, and the Blueshirts are going to do what they can between now and then not to let this wound turn into a irreversible scar.
“We’re going to take a couple hours to feel sorry for ourselves, and then we’re going to get right back at it,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “That’s the way playoff hockey is.”
Lundqvist was spectacular again, stopping 54-of-58 shots, the most shots he ever has seen in his career and the most saves he ever has made in either the regular season or postseason. The Canadiens held the play almost entirely from the moment the Rangers took a 3-2 lead at the 14:47 mark of the second period on a Brendan Smith shot deflected off Mats Zuccarello’s leg.
From there, the Blueshirts sat back and the Habs just pounded them in their zone, shift after shift with waves of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge attacking the front of Lundqvist’s net. It was admirable how the Rangers defended until beyond exhaustion, so often managing to do just enough to dump the puck out, make a quick line change, and do it all over again.
“I think we can still be better at the blue lines, getting pucks out,” said Rick Nash, who had one of this better postseason games as a Ranger, scoring a huge goal at 9:58 of the second that tied the game, 2-2. “That was one of our keys and we didn’t do a good enough job.
“Also, keep the foot on the gas. It seems to always as soon as you let that off, that’s when the other team starts getting lots of chances.”
The chances were aplenty, but Lundqvist made some dazzling saves in the third period and overtime, especially his right-toe stop on Phillip Danault with just over eight minutes remaining in overtime. (He also had his left post to thank for keeping out a Shea Weber blast just prior to that would have brought the house down.)
Asked if he was aware of how many shots he actually faced, Lundqvist just shook his head.
“Sort of,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, we lost the game.”
The two teams traded goals through the first half of the game, as some defensive lapses led to Montreal tallies from Jeff Petry and Paul Byron, while Michael Grabner scored for the Rangers on a beautiful breakaway backhand. Yet after goals from Nash and Zuccarello, the Rangers had that 3-2 lead to which they were desperately clinging.
But the shift that did them in came from Nick Holden, who broke his stick while trying to slash Plekanec in front. While the shards of his stick went between Lundqvist’s leg, Holden was on one knee as Plekanec’s shot went up and in, sending the 21,273 fans into a tizzy.
“It’s hard. It’s hard,” Lundqvist said. “The broken stick in front. … It’s a tough one to give up that late, but it happens and we have to regroup here and get ready.”
The Canadiens were never going to go easily, even after the Rangers’ 2-0 win in Game 1 on Wednesday night. But now the series is tied and it’s back to the Garden, where the Rangers have struggled to win for two months. It will be difficult for them to just put this one completely behind them — no matter how much they want to.
“I think when the puck drops on Sunday, we won’t even remember that,” Vigneault said. “We’re going to be focused on what we need to do on the ice against a very good hockey team.”