MONTREAL — From facing one of the league’s hottest teams to one of the coldest teams, the results are all the same for the Rangers.
That’s exactly what made this 4-1 win over the reeling Canadiens on Thursday night at Bell Center all the more notable. It wasn’t their three-goal surge in the second period, or the fact that the Habs didn’t score until there was a little more than five minutes left in regulation. The consistency with which the Rangers played from one game to the next, against two very different clubs, is what should be the takeaway from the Blueshirts’ third straight victory.
Just a month ago, a swing in competition level like the one the Rangers experienced from Tuesday to Thursday might’ve rattled them. Not now. Not when the Devils are continuing to fall down the standings. Not with the Capitals right on their heels for third place in the Metropolitan Division, which is where Washington stayed after a win of their own on Thursday. Not when the Rangers have worked so hard to get back into the fold.
“Sometimes it’s hard to go from a top team to the other side,” said Filip Chytil, who scored twice — including an empty-netter in the third — in the win following a demotion to the fourth line in the Rangers’ game against the division-leading Hurricanes on Tuesday. “But they played great, they played hard. Two points are earned.”
In front of a crowd whose passion and devotion was still palpable despite the state of the home team, the tone of this game was set early on.
The Canadiens, who were clearly gassed in their first home game since Dec. 17 after enduring a grueling seven-game road trip, failed to record a single shot on goal until there were just over three minutes left in the first period. Though the Rangers didn’t exactly capitalize on their opponent’s struggles in the opening period, the visitors skated with authority and dictated the pace of play, which carried over for much of the game.
Chris Kreider scored the first of the Rangers’ three goals in the second period while killing off the club’s bench minor for having too many men on the ice. Intercepting a pass to the top of the zone, Kreider took just three strides before he was completely out of reach of the Canadiens’ Arber Xhekaj, who only could watch as the winger buried the puck stick side on Jake Allen for the 1-0 lead.
Up until that moment, Montreal was the only team in the NHL which hadn’t given up a shorthanded goal this season.
Chytil and Braden Schneider each scored 59 seconds apart later in the frame to give the Rangers a comfortable three-goal lead. After Schneider netted his fifth of the season on a long shot from the top of the zone, Chytil whipped one home from above the left faceoff circle.
The Rangers simply didn’t give the Canadiens much room to work with, while backup goalie Jaroslav Halak, starting in place of Igor Shesterkin, stood tall against the organization with which he started his NHL career. Stopping 17 of the 18 shots he faced, the Slovakian netminder picked up his third win in a row, which improved the Rangers to 22-12-6 on the season.
“I think when we can show up and play our game and play Ranger hockey is when we’re going to be our best, no matter who’s across the way,” K’Andre Miller said. “Obviously, we had a big game last game and then coming in here, we kind of knew the slide that these guys were on and we expected a push back. I think we did a great job of responding to that and matching that level of intensity that they came up with.”
