When asked about breaking Mike Richter’s franchise record with 302 wins for the New York Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist called the feeling “surreal.” You could probably use similar terms to describe the game in which he claimed that record-breaking victory.
The Ottawa Senators went into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead and absolutely collapsed after that as the Rangers clobbered them in what ended up being an 8-4 win on Tuesday.
The Rangers are beginning to resemble the offensively robust group that head coach Alain Vigneault longed for earlier this season; even though they were shut out against San Jose, they’ve fired an impressive 80 shots on goal in their last two games. Many are labeling them as a dark horse candidate in the East, as they seem to be getting their act together and look pretty formidable on paper.
That doesn’t mean Vigneault is particularly happy with how this game played out (no shock as few coaches would be happy with a game that featured 12 goals).
AV ends presser, still laughing, by saying, "Let's forget about this one guys and move on."
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) March 19, 2014
This might be one of those burn-the-game-tape games for the winners, but things are getting downright grim for the Senators. They’ve lost four games in a row, six of their last seven and eight of 10 games. It’s basically been a disaster since the Olympic break ended and some are burying their chances already.
It's no longer a spork. Time to put the fork in the Sens playoff chances.
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) March 19, 2014
You don’t see such an inspired silverware (or plasticware?) analogy in sports everyday.