NEW YORK – For all the clutch scoring done by the Rangers in game five Monday night, it was the success of New York’s face-off wins that meant the most to head coach John Tortorella.
“I think the important thing is at the end it was the face-offs won by Dan (Girardi) and the power play” Tortorella said in the post game press conference. “Mitch (John Mitchell) wins a big one and Richie (Brad Richards) wins a couple at the end when we’re trying to tie it.”
For all the other efforts, the game came down to the fundamentals of positioning, driving the net and importantly winning the crucial face-offs.
But more than the things done this game was decided by the little things not done, like keeping your stick low away from the shoulders and above. The Caps’ Joel Ward was called for a high-sticking penalty that drew blood and earned a four-minute double minor.
Tortorella pulled goalie Henrik Lundqvist for an extra attacker giving New York a two-man advantage in the offensive zone.
The Ranger defensemen pushed the puck low as the clock wound down to below 15 seconds left in the match. With the clock continuing to wind down, the puck popped to Michael Del Zotto’s stick who put it on net but Braden Holtby stopped it.
The puck drifted to Richards who slipped it under Holtby’s pads with 6.6 seconds left sending the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy.
That goal ended one of the minor penalties to Ward leaving nearly a full two minutes for the opening of the extra session.
With the second minor penalty winding down, New York’s Carl Hagelin won a face-off in the near circle and angled the puck to Marc Staal at the point. Staal drifted to his left and let a slap shot go from the blue line that evaded Holtby’s glove for the game winner leading to a deafening roar from the hometown faithful.
When asked in the press conference who was responsible for the dramatic conclusion to the game Tortorella was emphatic in his response.
“The team. The team,” Tortorella said after the game.
The team will have an opportunity to push on to the conference finals on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
Contact LM.Davis@prohockeynews.com
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