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The New York Rangers withstood early pressure from the Montreal Canadiens and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was on top of his game as the New York Rangers took Game Two with a 3-1 win. Cheap Germany Soccer Jerseys . Before the game started, the Canadiens had announced that G Carey Price would be out for the series, with a knee injury suffered in a collision with Rangers LW Chris Kreider, and head coach Michel Therrien made the decision to go with Dustin Tokarski in Prices place. Tokarski, 24, has posted a .921 save percentage in 56 games with Hamilton of the AHL since he was acquired from Tampa Bay last year, and stopped 88 of 93 shots (.946 SV%) in three games with the Canadiens this year, but Tokarski has also started 10 NHL games in his career, so the decision came with a certain amount of risk. Montreal opened the game asserting territorial control, with 24 of the first 34 unblocked shot attempts in the game. Habs LW Max Pacioretty got the Canadiens on the board first, 6:14 into the game, with his third goal in the past four games. At that point, the Canadiens were looking good. Only 17 seconds later, Rangers D Ryan McDonagh scored on a shot that deflected off D Josh Gorges and past Tokarski. McDonagh added an assist later, giving him six points in the first two games of the series. As the first period neared a close, the Rangers looked like they might be able to escape with a tie score despite getting the wrong end of the puck possession game, but then circumstances got even better for the Blueshirts. A quick-break three-on-two, following a defensive zone face-off, resulted in a goal for Rick Nash, the second straight game in which he has scored. Tokarski could have come across the crease quicker, perhaps but, even so, Nashs one-time snap shot was stoppable. It was the kind of goal for which Tokarski shouldnt really be blamed -- he didnt give up the three-on-two break -- but, especially in the playoffs, it was the kind of goal that comes under more scrutiny. So the Canadiens, who might have been somewhat frustrated to end the first frame tied despite dominating play, werent even tied, they were down by a goal. Then, 8:03 into the second period, Rangers RW Martin St. Louis scored a power goal, with a rocket shot inside the post, and the Canadiens climb got much steeper. Montreal was stifled for much of the rest of the game, with a few surges, particularly on a power play, with Tokarski pulled, in the last four minutes, but Lundqvist was there to turn back any Habs attempts. In his last five games, Lundqvist has stopped 162 of 168 shpts (.964 SV%) and, over the past three seasons, has a .933 save percentage in the playoffs. Not exactly an easy head-to-head matchup for Tokarski to win. The Canadiens got LW Alex Galchenyuk back in the lineup -- his first game since suffering a knee injury April 9 against Chicago -- and the line of Brendan Gallagher, David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty was on for more than 86% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when they were on the ice. D P.K. Subban had 18 shot attempts (nine on net, six blocked, three missed the net) and Gallagher had 13 attempts. More problematic for the Canadiens is that Thomas Vanek didnt register a shot on goal. In the past seven games, Vanek has registered either one or zero shots in six of them. Its not as if the Canadiens have altogether no hope, but its not an easy task to come back from a two-games-to-none series deficit, and doing so with questions in goal makes that scenario all the less likely. They will need a dramatically different performance in New York if they are going to reverse the path which is currently leading them to the offseason in short order. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Netherlands Soccer Jerseys . Canada had opened Day 2 at the tournament with a 24-0 loss to New Zealand in the Cup quarter-final before beating Samoa 27-0 to cruise into the Plate final. The loss in the Plate final means Canada finished sixth in the rugby sevens tournament. nfl jerseys china . The Formula One circus has arrived in town and on this Thursday afternoon the teams crew members are setting up their equipment in the pit lane ahead of the three day race weekend.VANCOUVER - After a short break during the group stages of the World Cup, the Major League Soccer season gets back underway on Wednesday night with an all-Canadian clash at BC Place as Vancouver Whitecaps host Montreal Impact (live on TSN and TSN 690 at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt). The Whitecaps will look to pick up where they left off and cement a place in the Western Conference playoff places, while Montreal will be hoping for a much different story after an extremely disappointing start to the MLS season. Winning the Canadian Championship was the bright spot so far this year for an Impact team that sits bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Form: The Whitecaps enter the match unbeaten in their last seven matches (Won 3, Tied 4) while the Impact have won just twice all season and have only picked up two points from their previous six matches on the road. Vancouver needed a late penalty from Pedro Morales to rescue a point at Philadelphia in their last match, despite leading the game 2-0 at PPL Park. The Whitecaps have been having no trouble scoring goals, but will need to tighten up defensively if they are to build on their excellent start to the year. The Caps havent lost in MLS since April 12 when they were beaten 1-0 by LA Galaxy in California. Vancouver are unbeaten against Eastern Conference opposition so far this season. After beating Toronto FC to be crowned Canadian champions, and winning at home to high flying New England, Montreals revival came to a crashing halt with a 4-2 loss at home to DC United two weeks ago. Things have improved for the Impact since they started the season by taking just three points from a possible 21 through their first seven matches, but they will need to be consistently strong between now and the end of the year if they are to have any chance of getting into the playoff race. The Impact are currently eight points outside the playoff places. With only 13 goals in 13 matches, the Impact are the lowest scoring team in MLS, but the signing of Jack McInerney has proved to be an excellent addition. The Big Question: Will Montreals defence be able to cope with Vancouvers speedsters? The Whitecaps have caused plenty of problems for their opponents this year with lots of attacking options, and Chilean midfielder Pedro Morales proving to be the perfect set-up man. Striker Erik Hurtado has been leading the way in recent games with five goals in his last five matches in all competitions. Hurtado has shown the ability to cause defenders all kinds of problems with his strength and speed, and the Whitecaps can also call upon the pace of Kekuta Manneh and Darren Mattocks. In their last match before the break, Montreal defended poorly and conceded four goals at home to DC United, however, in their previouus game, they managed to keep a clean sheet against a strong New England team. Cheap Jerseys From China. If the Impact defence isnt switched on from minute one, the Whitecaps young guns could take advantage. Montreal coach Frank Klopas has the chance to make changes in defence if he chooses, with the recent additions of Futty Danso from Portland, and former Sporting KC man Mechack Jerome. The Lineup: There are a few decisions for Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson to make with regards to his starting lineup. Captain Jay DeMerit came off injured in the tie at Philadelphia and is sidelined for six weeks. Robinson will choose from Andy OBrien, Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron and Christian Dean to fill the two central defensive places. At the other end of the pitch, it is possible the Caps could start with Mattocks and Manneh supporting Hurtado. Robinson has said he would love to see the three players start together at some stage and it is possible that this could be the occasion to try it. If not, one of the Whitecaps two Uruguayans, Sebastien Fernandez or Nicolas Mezquida, could get the start. With Marco Di Vaio and Justin Mapp expected to miss the match through injury, the Impact will be relying on McInerney and Andres Romero to provide a goal scoring edge. Both players have been in good form of late. McInerney has four goals in eight MLS appearances since joining the Impact from Philadelphia, and Romero had scored in his last three MLS matches. The most interesting decision for Montreal will be who Klopas decides to play in defence, and whether or not either Danso or Jerome will be handed an Impact debut. In midfield, Klopas could give a debut to 30-year-old Spaniard Gorka Larrea who played 90 minutes in the reserves against Harrisburg City Islanders last Friday. The Odds: This is only the third meeting between the two sides in Major League Soccer, with the Whitecaps having won both of the previous encounters. Montreal havent played a league match in Vancouver since losing 2-0 in the clubs inaugural MLS game in March 2012, but the Impact were celebrating after their last match at BC Place. A 2-2 tie last spring in the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship saw Montreal lift the Voyageurs Cup. With Vancouvers strong home form and Montreals difficulties on the road the Whitecaps will be strong favourites heading in. Carl Robinsons team has lost just once at BC Place this season, while the Impact are yet to win away. Where to Watch: Join me along with Jason de Vos and Perry Solkowski for all of the action from BC Place. We are live on TSN with the pre-match show starting at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. There will be features on Carl Robinson, Kekuta Manneh, and Montreals Canadian international winger Issey Nakajima-Farran. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
