This was ugly, and gritty, and at times, downright nasty.
But the Rangers were the ones able to come out on the winning side of this postseason rematch, getting the second shutout of the season for goalie Henrik Lundqvist as they took a 3-0 victory over the Senators on Sunday night at the Garden.
In a game that centered around a big hit from Brendan Smith on Senators forward Mark Borowiecki, getting Smith a five-minute major and an ejection at 7:32 of the third period, the Blueshirts (10-9-2) ended a short two-game losing streak following a points doughnut during their trip through Chicago and Columbus. And it came with a small bit of revenge against Guy Boucher’s trapping Senators (8-5-6), who bounced the Rangers in the second round of the playoffs last spring.
“I’d rather take the win in the playoffs,” said forward Mika Zibanejad, the former Senator who finished things off with his 10th goal of the season into the empty Ottawa net with 2:29 remaining. “But it’s a new season, it’s a new opportunity to build off what we’ve done so far.”
The Rangers were holding a 2-0 lead midway through the third when Smith went back to retrieve a puck in his own end. Borowiecki was bearing down on him, and gave a small slash with his stick as Smith said the two made eye contact. Then Smith put his shoulder into him, and Borowiecki went flying into the boards with his back and neck leading the way, going unconscious the instant he hit.
“He’s a big strong guy, I’ve been hit by him, so I expected us to make contact,” Smith said. “You see those plays happen all over the ice. It’s just unfortunate the outcome. Hopefully he’ll be OK.”
It was hard for Smith or coach Alain Vigneault to get too upset when the penalties were announced, as Borowiecki laid on the ice motionless for a few minutes. But afterward, Smith was tepid in saying he thought it was “a little harsh. At worst, two minutes, I’m OK with maybe an interference there. That happens a lot.”
With all the offensive skill the Senators have on their power play — the likes of Erik Karlsson, new trade-piece Matt Duchene, and old buddy Derick Brassard — the Blueshirts had their hands full with the penalty kill. But they blocked six shots over those five minutes, and were terrific in limiting Ottawa’s chances while creating a handful of shorthanded breaks, as well.
“It was the difference tonight,” Lundqvist said, “not letting them have a goal there and kind of change the momentum of the game. So it was huge for us.”
It also helped that Lundqvist had been terrific up to that point, the best of his 20 saves coming when he denied Mike Hoffman on a two-on-one rush, sliding to his right and stacking the pads while looking like an old nemesis, Marty Brodeur.
“That’s old school right there,” Lundqvist said. “When you get that kind of support like I got tonight, clearing in front of me and getting to rebounds, it’s easy to play in goal.”
It was certainly easier than it had been earlier in the season, and some of the tension was lifted — or, some life was brought back into the building after Boucher’s style tried to suck all the life out — when Kevin Hayes got his fifth of the season on a scorching wrist shot from the right circle at 4:46 of the second period. Michael Grabner then added his ninth on a deft tip of a long Marc Staal shot at 4:52 of the third, and the Rangers held a 2-0 lead that seemed like it’d be more than enough.
Then they were tested with the five-minute penalty kill, but Lundqvist and his mates were there to wrap this up, end the losing streak, and maybe marginally soften the blow of what the Senators did to them in the playoffs.
“All that matters is getting the win,” Lundqvist said, “but the way we got the win, that’s great for the confidence.”