The Rangers got the energy they were looking for from the fans and John Tortorella saw some of the spark out of his team off the bat that he was hoping for, but the one thing they didn’t get were goals.
Even in spite of 1:26 of five-on-three power play time to close out the first period, the Rangers weren’t able to put home a goal. Now they’ll head into the second period looking to kill off a penalty of their own. Michal Neuvirth made eight saves while Henrik Lundqvist made seven for the Rangers.
The action is intense and when the Rangers are hitting people, the pace picks up in a big way. The Rangers need that intensity all game long though as the Caps are proving to be quite resilient.
One highlight of the period came after the Rangers were busted for icing. With his team stuck on the ice and tired, Rangers agitator Sean Avery went a bit out of his way to help buy a few more seconds rest for his team. As the Rangers lined up for the faceoff, Avery’s stick broke in half... With a little help from Sean Avery.
Every little edge helps out, doesn’t it? Leave it to Avery to go above and beyond to gain an advantage, even for a little while.