Henrik Lundqvist waited nine years for a night like this. For the New York Rangers franchise it was 20 years in the making.
When the final buzzer sounded Thursday night, the Broadway Blueshirts were in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since captain Mark Messier was in charge.
Lundqvist and the Rangers shook off a rough loss in Montreal two nights earlier and shut down the Canadiens 1-0 to win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals and move on to their first championship round appearance since taking the title in 1994.
“Enjoy the moment right now, but we are not done,” forward Martin St. Louis said. “It’s going to be fun. Take it all in, but leave it out there, as well.”
The Rangers had a 3-1 series lead before falling 7-4 in Game 5 when Lundqvist was pulled after allowing four goals in less than two periods.
Although New York knew it had two chances to eliminate the Canadiens, the team’s focus was on Game 6. Another trip back to Montreal was a dreaded experience the Rangers fought to avoid.
Lundqvist wasn’t overly busy in stopping all 18 shots he faced, but there was no margin for error as Dominic Moore’s second-period goal was the only offense in the clincher.
“We played so well the entire game,” Lundqvist said. “For me it was more about just being focused on the shots they had.”
Lundqvist leaped several times in his crease with his hands raised as streamers were fired off from the rafters at the end.
“It was just such a great feeling to see how we responded from the last game,” Lundqvist said. “The third period, I think we played our best period of the playoffs. When it mattered the most, the guys really stepped up.”
Lundqvist tied the team record for playoff shutouts with nine.
The Rangers are the first team to advance to the finals after being stretched to seven games in the first two rounds.
Montreal got back forward Brandon Prust after he served a two-game suspension for a late hit in Game 3 that broke Derek Stepan’s jaw. Montreal’s Dale Weise sat out two nights after he was wobbled by a hit to the head from John Moore.
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