The Rangers stumbled, stabilized and rebounded. That is how Game 6 unspooled Saturday night. That is also how their series against the Montreal Canadiens unfolded.
A listless beginning to their postseason, and to their 3-1 series-clinching victory at Madison Square Garden, gave way to total control.
In both cases, the Rangers started slow, then minimized their deficiencies and relied throughout on the stellar goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist to win the best-of-seven series and secure a berth in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Lundqvist protected a one-goal lead for more than 25 intense minutes until Derek Stepan’s empty-net score with 17.