The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins used up tonight’s quota of Game 7 dramatics. Not that the New York Rangers mind.
Arron Asham gave them a one-goal lead in the first period and they steadily added to it throughout this game. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 35 Capitals shots to earn his second straight shutout.
Here are a few notes about the Rangers’ dominating 5-0 win:
- Alex Ovechkin wasn’t able to score in this contest, but he tried to contribute in other ways. He had a game-high 13 hits, but of course, that’s not what his team needed the most from him tonight.
- With back-to-back shutouts, Lundqvist has now earned eight in his postseason career. That puts him in a five-way tie for 13th place on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Four different Rangers players scored their first goal of the playoffs tonight. No one on the Rangers has more than two goals in the playoffs, but they have gotten goals from 11 different guys.
- The Rangers failed to convert on their two power-play opportunities in Game 7. Obviously, that didn’t change the outcome of this game, but the Rangers are dead last with the man advantage among the teams that have advanced to the second round.
- Rick Nash is still searching for his first goal of the 2013 playoffs, but he did register an assist tonight. At the age of 28, he has also won his first postseason series.