Who would've guessed that the best player on the ice in Game Six would be former Ranger Tom Poti?
Doing his best Bobby Orr impersonation, Poti was able to burn his former mates in both the offensive and defensive zones. He registered one goal and three assists, to go along with some excellent penalty killing, especially late in the game.
The Rangers made some early mistakes and couldn't recover. Paul Mara and Derek Morris continue to be brutal, Nikolai Zherdev splits his time between being the invisible man and missing critical empty nets, and Lundqvist has been...well...un-Lundqvist-like?
Although the majority of the blame falls on the five guys in front of him, Henrik Lundqvist has now been pulled in two straight games. He was beat to the high glove three times today. The Caps have found a dent in what was once seemingly impenetrable armor.
It's got to be tough knowing you need to be nearly perfect night in and night out. The same goes for the Rangers' players as well, who rely too heavily on winning close, one goal, low scoring games.
The benching of Sean Avery, which many thought would bring out an excellent Game Six for the sparkplug, effectively neutered him. Although he played a sound game, there was no hitting. There was no jawing at the other players. There were no antics to get the other side off their game.
The bottom line is the Caps are finishing their chances, the Rangers are not. The Caps are getting high quality chances, the Rangers are not (and when they are, they miss...cough-cough-Naslund and Zherdev-cough-cough).
Game Seven will be a test of character for the Rangers. They failed in Game Five and in Game Six. Can they fight the tide of momentum swinging in the Caps Favor?
Only time will tell...
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