NEW YORK, N.Y. - When other parts of their game are sputteri

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NEW YORK, N.Y. - When other parts of their game are sputtering, the New York Rangers have two solid-gold assets to fall back on. Penalty killing and goaltending. Its a combo that has helped the Blueshirts to within one victory of their first Stanley Cup final in 20 years. And it has frustrated the Montreal Canadiens, who must win Game 5 Tuesday at the Bell Centre to stave off playoff extinction. With a 17.1 per cent strike rate — good for 19th during the regular season — the Montreal power play was hardly a well-oiled machine. But against the Rangers, the Canadiens are 1-for-17 with the man-advantage. Montreals lone power-play breakthrough came Sunday night in a 3-2 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden. And that P.K. Subban blast from the point was tempered by a short-handed goal by Carl Hagelin that opened the scoring. The Canadiens power play went 1-for-8 on a night where the Rangers spent 14.33 minutes or almost 22 per cent of the game a man short. "Give credit to our (penalty) killers and our goaltender," said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. "They did a real good job." That is nothing new. Prior to Subbans goal, the Rangers had killed off 27 straight penalties. New York is 37-for-39 (94.9 per cent) on the penalty kill in its last 12 games The penalty count was three to one against the Rangers by the 10-minute mark Sunday, the perfect scenario for a Montreal team looking for a decisive start to silence the Rangers crowd. "We had the opportunity on the power play but we didnt take advantage of it tonight," lamented Montreal coach Michel Therrien. "Yes, we scored a goal. It was a tying goal, but we gave up one, and that was the story of the game. I thought our power play had to be better." The Rangers go-to forward pairing on the power play is Hagelin and Brian Boyle. Hagelin is a speed merchant while the Boyle resume reads "big body, blocks shots, good on faceoffs," according to Vigneault. Boyle can also pass a bit, finding Hagelin all alone on a stretch pass deep from the New York end. Hagelin broke in alone, faked a shot and tucked a backhand between the legs of Dustin Tokarski at 7:18 for his sixth of the playoffs. It was the Rangers first short-handed goal in 70 playoff games, dating back to April 9, 2008. The New York penalty kill is smart and sleek. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has worked hard on his puck-handling and his defenders are well-positioned. If a Ranger gets to the puck first behind the net, for example, there is usually a teammate standing just feet away ready to dump it down the rink. "I think our guys do a good job whether it be on the forecheck coming back in the right positions and trying to create those battles where youve a chance to make a couple plays and get it out," said Vigneault. "When we dont, (our) goaltender stops the puck." In four games, Montreal has seven goals on 107 shots. While Tokarski has won kudos for his play in stepping in for the injured Carey Price, Lundqvists playoffs numbers are sparkling — a .931 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average. The Rangers have allowed two goals or less in 13 of their 18 playoff games., including six of the last seven games. New York ranks first in the NHL in goals against per game in the playoffs at 2.11. Sundays win was the 41st post-season win of Lundqvists career, tying him with Mike Richter for the most playoff victories in Rangers history. The 32-year-old Lundqvist ranks first in Rangers history in regulation wins with 309, eight more than Richters 301. In contrast, the 24-year-old Tokarski has 13 NHL games —10 in the regular season and three in the playoffs. Lundqvist picked up an assist on Derick Brassards second-period goal, his first in 85 post-season games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first Rangers goaltender to record a playoff assist since Mike Richter on May 11, 1997. With Game 5 coming up fast, the main Ranger talking point will be whether Derek Stepan can return from a broken jaw suffered in Game 3. On the weekend, he managed to drop by the arena to see his teammates before returning home to recuperate from surgery. Brassard, meanwhile, returned to the lineup Sunday after being knocked out of Game 1 early with an upper body injury and made his presence felt. In addition to his goal, he led all skaters with 18 faceoffs wins, winning 75 per cent of his 24 draws. New York is winning the faceoff battle. On Sunday, the Rangers took 48 of 79 draws for a 61 per cent success rate. Martin St. Louis hot hand is also of note. His OT winner Sunday Louis extended his point streak to six games (4-3—7), tying a playoff career high in the post-season. He leads the Ranges with 13 points in these playoffs. NOTES— Hagelin was Sundays recipient of the Broadway Hat, a battered black fedora given to the player judged by his peers to be most instrumental in a Rangers win ... The Rangers are 12-1 all-time when they lead a playoff series three games to one. Whitey Herzog Jersey . Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a semi-automatic pistol without a license. Lou Brock Jersey . An unconventional night for Texas-El Paso nearly led to the Miners getting a huge upset. Down by 14 with 2:21 left, the Miners went on a frantic closing spurt that fell just short, and UTEP was beaten by No. http://www.cardinalsrookiestore.com/Cardinals-Jedd-Gyorko-Kids-Jersey/.ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Tim McCarver Jersey . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Chris Carpenter Jersey . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - A right cross to an opponents chin. An arrest on a marijuana possession charge. A decision to walk out on the Pittsburgh Steelers.And now, for LeGarrette Blount, a spot in the Super Bowl in a revived career.Its had its ups and downs, the hard-hitting running back for the New England Patriots said. Ive had good times and bad and Ive embraced them all. So Im enjoying every second of this.Blount returned to practice Thursday for the NFL championship game against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 1.He helped the Patriots get there by rushing for 148 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries in a 45-7 rout of the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday night.A feeling of redemption, perhaps?No, Blount said, it was the feeling of winning the AFC championship.Its a high point of a career that plummeted early in his senior year at Oregon when he punched opponent Byron Hout on the field after a loss to Boise State. Hout appeared to say something to Blount before being hit and Blount, who was led to the locker room by security personnel, apologized immediately after the game.He spent the next three seasons with Tampa Bay after going undrafted, then was traded to the Patriots in April 2013. He rushed for 166 yards and four touchdowns in a divisional playoff win over Indianapolis. But two months after a loss to Denver in the AFC championship game, he signed a two-year contract with Pittsburgh.In his first training camp with the Steelers, Blount was arrested on a marijuana possession charge after police said they found marijuana in a car Pittsburgh running back LeVeon Bell was driving. Bell also was arrested.Bell started all 11 games in which he and Blount were teammates.Blounts frustration mounted when he ran five times for no yards in the 10th game then didnt carry the ball at all in the next game, a 27-24 loss at Tennessee. As quarterback Ben Roethslisberger was preparing to kneel down on the final play, Blount headed to the locker room.When teammates got there he was about to leave for the team bus.I was still dresssed in my football stuff and I went out to go get him, Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said.dddddddddddd I know hes not a selfish guy. Hes a team guy, but its more so knowing his feelings were hurt.Blount was cut the next day.If there was someone that was a cancer ended up leaving on his own, thats a blessing for us, Pittsburgh centre Maurkice Pouncey said the day Blount was released. Hes been a good teammate. ... He made his decision last night and its probably going to stick with him for a while.Not really.Two days later, he signed with the Patriots. And three days after that, he rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in a 34-9 win over the Detroit Lions.In the regular season, he rushed for 266 yards in 11 games with the Steelers and 281 in five games with the Patriots.Im in a better scenario than I could possibly be in right now, Blount said.And hes surrounded by appreciative teammates.We love LG whether he has 250 yards or 5 yards, running back Shane Vereen said. Hes a great player, a great teammate. Hes accepted around here and everybody loves him.In the AFC championship game, the 250-pound Blount showed power and agility in running over and around defenders.You dont see a lot of guys like him, coach Bill Belichick said. He can make you miss tackles a lot of different ways.He could have been doing that in Pittsburgh.It was a disappointment the way that turned out, Steelers president Art Rooney II said. Obviously, you dont want to cut a player, even a backup player, at that point in the season but ... the decision was that it wasnt a good fit.Blount still faces repercussions from his time in Pittsburgh. Hes due in court Feb. 4 when the marijuana possession charge could be dismissed.By then he could be a Super Bowl champion.I like it here a lot, Blount said. I just wanted to be a part of an organization like that and I got my chance to and Im taking full advantage of it.___AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report. ___AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Stitched College Jerseys Cheap UCLA Jerseys NCAA Louisville Cardinals Jerseys North Carolina Jerseys Stitched Kentucky Wildcats Jerseys Stitched Alabama Crimson Tide Jerseys Cheap Basketball Wisconsin Badgers Jerseys Authentic NCAA Jerseys Store Wholesale Basketball NCAA Jerseys Cheap Duke Gear Stitched Alabama Jerseys Stitched Georgia Jerseys Cheap Clemson Jerseys Authentic Authentic Texas Jerseys Wholesale USC Jerseys Stitched Oklahoma Jerseys Stitched Ohio State Jerseys Cheap Notre Dame Gear UCLA Jerseys From China Cheap Louisville Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap North Carolina Jerseys Authentic Cheap Kentucky Jerseys Authentic Wisconsin Jerseys From China Cheap Michigan Gear Cheap Florida Gear Wholesale Arizona State Jerseys Cheap LSU Gear Cheap Auburn Gear Cheap California Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Miami Jerseys Authentic Cheap Michigan State Gear Cheap Tennessee Jerseys Authentic Texas A&M Jerseys From China Authentic Wake Forest Jerseys West Virginia Jerseys From China ' ' '