A few shots to the head can do wonders to a person’s self-confidence.
One game after Matt Carkner was suspended for Game 3 thanks to a vicious attack on New York’s Brian Boyle, it was Boyle who scored the lone goal in the Rangers 1-0 defeat of the Senators.
New York now leads the best-of-seven series, 2-1, and have wrestled home-ice advantage back from Ottawa.
It didn’t come easy down the stretch as the Rangers faced a power play with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. Henrik Lundqvist made one point-blank save and the deflection was stolen by Boyle, who outraced the defense on a breakaway and earned a slashing penalty to even the advantage again.
Then, with just over a minute left, the Senators pulled their goalie and threw a last minute flurry of shots at the net.
Lundqvist stoned two shots from inside 10 feet, first by Kyle Turris and then by all-everything Jason Spezza moments laters, with under a minute to play.
Those would be the last chances Ottawa would get.
Lundqvist made 39 saves, many of which were far from routine.
Boyle’s goal came 7:35 into the final period on a backhand from just outside the crease. It was his third this postseason.
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