I am so glad I can finally type this article because before last night, the New York Rangers went close to five years without a victory in Montreal; it finally happened.

“Do you believe in miracles?”

Yes.

I know both the Rangers and Montreal Canadiens are close together in the standings, now only two points separating the teams, but it always seemed like no matter how good or bad the Canadiens were, that the Rangers just could not beat them in Montreal.  Not only could they not beat them, but it was starting to get so ridiculous that the Rangers could not even score a goal in Montreal. Before last night the Rangers were shutout three-straight times in the Bell Centre. Now you can add one goal to that total, and luckily for the Rangers one goal was all they needed.

Yes, the Rangers shut out the Canadiens in Montreal by a 1-0 score.  The best part of that, besides the win and two points the Rangers earned in Montreal, was that starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was not even in net. Backup goalie Cam Talbot recorded 22 saves and his first NHL shutout last night in helping to lead the Rangers to victory. However I cannot just give credit to Talbot as the Rangers’ defense tightened up their game and allowed hardly any scoring chances for the Canadiens all game, but when the Habs were able to get a shot through, Talbot was there standing tall in net. It was an all around great game for the Rangers, but especially for Talbot and the defense.

It will be a quick turn around as the Rangers fly home immediately to take on the Los Angeles Kings tonight. Lundqvist will start in net tonight, but regardless, the Kings are a top team in the Western Conference and any game against them will be difficult to win.  This is why the Rangers have to play with the same intensity, utilize the same strategy as last night, deny the Kings scoring chances and have the goaltender, tonight being Lundqvist, stand tall in net just like the Rangers did in Montreal last night.

Steven Carollo is a New York Rangers’ and sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, add him on Facebook, connect with him on LinkedIn and join his Google network.

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