Injuries mount as Blueshirts are blanked in Montreal

2013 Game No. 17; Road Game No. 7	Rangers' Record: 8-7-2
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GAME RECAP Playing with an injury-depleted lineup Saturday night at the Bell Centre, the Rangers could not match the Montreal Canadiens and came away on the short end of a 3-0 final. After playing a strong, yet scoreless opening period, the Rangers surrendered a goal early in the second period, one near the midway point, and another before the second intermission arrived to fall into a 3-0 hole. Montreal's Lars Eller had a hand in all three of the scores, assisting on the first two before tallying a power play goal of his own with 25.3 seconds left in the middle period. The Rangers had allowed only three shots in the first period -- including one that required a big-time save by Martin Biron off a David Desharnais point-blank try -- but in the middle stanza Montreal took over the game, outshooting New York 13-7. Erik Cole opened the scoring with a bad-angle left-wing goal just 1:20 into the period and rookie Alex Galchenyuk had his shot deflect off Dan Girardi's stick and under the crossbar for his third goal of the season at 13:36. Eller then finished a tic-tac-toe power-play passing sequence at 19:34 for his second goal of the season. Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh was forced from the game after taking a high, hard hit into the back glass by Max Pacioretty, who received a boarding penalty for the hit at 7:20 of the second period. McDonagh eventually left the game and did not return. Then in the final minute of play, while killing off a 5-on-3 Canadiens power play, Girardi blocked a P.K. Subban bomb of a slapshot with either his foot or ankle. Girardi needed assistance heading to the dressing room. Forwards Rick Nash, Darroll Powe, and Arron Asham also were missing from the Rangers lineup due to injury. As a result, rookie Christian Thomas made his NHL debut. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Rangers held the Canadiens to three shots on goal in the first and third periods, which ties their season-low for fewest shots allowed in a period this season. New York also held Montreal to three shots on goal in the first period of their game on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Girardi 2. Staal 3. Stralman

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THE BIGGER PICTURE Injuries are a part of life in the NHL, but the amount plaguing the Rangers right now is off the charts. The Blueshirts can only hope that these will not be long-term absences, because they will likely not be able to reach their true potential with all this talent sidelined.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Staal (27:56) Shots -- Stralman, Callahan (3) Hits -- Three players tied (4) Blocks -- Girardi (8) Takeaways -- Richards (2) Faceoffs -- Stepan (27)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT MONTREAL
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Taylor Pyatt	Brad Richards	Marian Gaborik
Carl Hagelin	Derek Stepan	Ryan Callahan
Chris Kreider	Jeff Halpern	J.T. Miller
Brandon Mashinter	Brian Boyle	Christian Thomas

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh	Anton Stralman
Matt Gilroy	Stu Bickel
Goaltenders: Martin Biron, Henrik Lundqvist Starting Lineup: Biron, Staal, Girardi, Pyatt, Richards, Gaborik.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Marian Gaborik	Derek Stepan	Ryan Callahan
Carl Hagelin	J.T. Miller	Christian Thomas

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Brad Richards	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Anton Stralman

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Ryan Callahan	Jeff Halpern
Brian Boyle	Derek Stepan

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
McDonagh/Staal	Dan Girardi
Matt Gilroy	Anton Stralman