MONTREAL - Martin St. Louis started the onslaught and Henrik Lundqvist posted his first win in Montreal in more than two years as the New York Rangers routed the Canadiens 7-2 to open the NHL Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon.
St. Louis, who is to attend his mother's funeral with his teammates on Sunday, got the opening goal before Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Brad Richards, Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash also scored for the Rangers, a team that had scored only four goals in its last nine regular-season visits to the Bell Centre.
'It was an emotional time for everyone, but the guys have been behind me and supported me,' said St. Louis, who got a long ovation from Montreal fans as he was named the game's first star.
Rene Bourque and Lars Eller scored for Montreal, which saw star goalie Carey Price apparently injure his right leg when he was run over early in the second period. Price was replaced by Peter Budaj after the second period.
Montreal coach Michel Therrien said the change was not made due to injury, but because the team was playing so poorly in front of him.
'You don't need to make many adjustments [for Game 2 on Monday night] when you are not ready mentally,' said Therrien. 'You have no chance to win in that situation.
'There were a lot of mental errors.'
It was Montreal's worst playoff defeat since losing 8-2 to Carolina in 2002.
Budaj was beaten on his first shot, a bullet from the slot by McDonagh on a power play at 1:28. The frustrated Canadiens then took a succession of penalties, including two minors and a misconduct to former Ranger Brandon Prust. Stepan scored and Nash broke his slump with his first in 15 games in this year's playoffs.
Montreal got one back while shorthanded with 4:38 left in the game when Eller beat Lundqvist with a quick, high shot from the slot.
'We talked about getting pucks behind them and work the puck and we did a good job of that,' said McDonagh, who also had three assists.
That St. Louis got the Rangers started was fitting, as he became a rallying point for his team for playing a day after his mother France's death as they erased a 3-1 series deficit to beat Pittsburgh in the second round.
The boost the Canadiens got from their rousing pre-game ceremonies in the first two series wasn't there as the Rangers showed all the speed and intensity in the opening frame, outshooting Montreal 12-6 and taking a 2-0 lead.
Dominic Moore jumped on a loose puck after Michael Bournival partially blocked a point shot and slipped a pass to a wide open St. Louis at the doorstep to open the scoring at 4:35.
Moore was the playmaker again as he slid a pass in front of the net and the trailing Zuccarrello was able to poke it into an open side as the Rangers beat Price twice on their first five shots.
Bourque took consecutive hooking calls late in the first period, but made up for it in the second as he went hard to the net, whacked at Brian Gionta's pass and saw it go in off McDonagh's stick at 12:38.
That brought the 21,273 at the Bell Centre back to life, but they went quiet again as Stepan broke in alone on the left side and beat Price with a low shot at 18:59.
With 11.6 seconds left in the period, Zuccarello made a sweet reverse pass that had Price out of position for Richards to score into an open side.
'They were really coming at us there,' said McDonagh. 'You get some fortunate clears and good finishing plays by the guys up front. It was a big change of momentum for sure, because they were really flying.'
Lundqvist had not played a game in Montreal since allowing four goals on Jan. 15, 2012. His last win there was March 17, 2009.
He didn't appear to be in top form, but he didn't need to be as Montreal managed only 22 shots.
'I felt good coming into the game,' said Lundqvist. 'We haven't won too many games in this building so it's a great start.'
Post By http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/05/17/new-york-rangers-rout-montreal-canadiens-7-2-at-bell-centre-in-game-1/
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