05/30/2014 at 10:33am EDT
LUNDQVIST, RANGERS PUNCH TICKET TO STANLEY CUP FINAL
Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 18 shots he faced and Dominic Moore scored the lone goal at 18:07 of the second period to lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final for the 11th time in franchise history and first time since 1994.
* Lundqvist recorded his 42nd career playoff win and ninth shutout, preserving a scoreless tie with an acrobatic blocker save in the second period. With the victory, Lundqvist passed Mike Richter for the most postseason wins in franchise history and tied him for the most shutouts.
* During the regular season, Lundqvist established two franchise records in a five-day span, becoming the team’s all-time wins leader with his 302nd career victory on March 18 at OTT as well as its all-time shutouts leader with his 50th career shutout on March 22 at NJ.
* In 20 appearances during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Lundqvist leads the NHL with a .928 save percentage and ranks second with a 2.03 goals-against average.
* Moore scored his third goal – and second game-winner – of the postseason (20 GP). He has two game-winning goals in his last 157 regular-season contests dating to 2010-11.
* Ryan McDonagh registered the secondary assist on Moore’s goal and finished the series with eight helpers and 10 points, tops among both teams. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first defenseman in Rangers history to collect eight assists in a playoff series and only the second to record at least 10 points. The other: Brian Leetch, who posted 5-6—11 in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final vs. VAN en route to capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy.
* The Rangers improved to 10-0 during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs when leading after two periods. Including the regular season, they have won 38 of 41 games in 2013-14 when holding a lead after 40 minutes.
DID YOU KNOW?
Four of the last six Rangers teams that have reached the Stanley Cup Final, including each of the past three, have featured a head coach in his first year with the club:
2013-14: Alain Vigneault
1993-94: Mike Keenan
1978-79: Fred Shero
1939-40: Frank Boucher
* Lynn Patrick also guided the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in his first full season as the team’s head coach in 1949-50 (he took over midway through the 1948-49 season).
2014 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE
Among the more than half-million entries for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Can-Am Spyder on NHL.com, only 25,464 (5%) predicted the Rangers would advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
LOOSE PUCKS
The Rangers improved to 8-7 in 15 all-time playoff meetings with the Canadiens, including wins in four of the last six series dating to 1972 . . . Canadiens goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 31 saves . . . Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi played in his 84th career postseason contest, tying Ron Greschner for third on the franchise’s all-time playoff games played list . . . Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban logged a game-high 27:04 . . . Defenseman Brady Austin (BUF) and forward Jason Dickinson (DAL) signed entry-level contracts . . . Actors Jason Bateman, David Zayas and Kelly Bensimon with Nick Stefanov; comedian Brooks Wheelan; musician Robert Randolph with chef Anne Burrell; model Linda Evangelista with son Augustin James Evangelista; NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams with son Doug Williams; New York Giants players Markus Kuhn and Geoff Schwartz; former MLB outfielder Darryl Strawberry; and talk show host Mike Francesa were among the fans in attendance for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.
SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Chicago @ Los Angeles, Game 6, LA leads 3-2, 9:00 p.m., NBCSN, CBC, RDS
thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information
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