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Mats Zuccarello comes up big as Rangers finish off Canadiens

Sean Leahy
·Contributing writer
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 22: Mats Zuccarello #36 of the New York Rangers scores a goal against Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens during the second period in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2017 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Canadiens 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – “He’s a competitive little bugger, eh?”

Alain Vigneault couldn’t help but smile when he was asked about Mats Zuccarello following the New York Rangers’ series clinching win in Game 6 over the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night. The Norwegian forward’s two second-period goals propelled the Rangers to a 3-1 victory and a trip to the second round.

“He competes every shift. He’s become a real big part of our team,” Vigneault said afterward. “Not just for what we does on the ice, but also he brings the team together. He’s a real good teammate and came up huge for us tonight.”

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Zuccarello jump-started the Rangers in a big way with his first goal, ending the team’s 0-for-14 power-play drought in the series by finishing off a great cross-ice pass from Mika Zibanejad.

The 5-foot-7 Zuccarello later evaded the Montreal defense and put home the tiebreaking goal to give the Rangers the lead for good midway through the game.

“I didn’t do much there. I missed the net, too,” said Zuccarello.

The Rangers responded in a big way following back-to-back losses in Games 2 and 3 – with Game 2’s overtime loss coming after a Canadiens tying goal with 17 seconds left in regulation and a Game 3 performance that Vigneault dubbed as “ordinary.”

The flip from being up 1-0 to being down 2-1 in the series served as a wake up call for the Rangers. Defenseman Marc Staal was confident they would rebound, knowing that playoff series can change very quickly. Despite the losses, the room wasn’t shaken.

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“Our attitude going into Game 4 was just play the game, make plays, play with confidence,” Staal said after Game 6. “We’re a good team and we’ve got to get after it, and that’s what we did. Everyone responded really well in our room.”

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Vigneault’s arrival in New York in 2013 coincided with the start Zuccarello’s rise. The 29-year-old forward has watched his offensive output explode over the last four seasons. It’s a jump that was helped when the head coach put Zuccarello on a line with former ex-Rangers Derick Brassard and Benoit Pouliot. That’s when everything started to click.

Now, in 2017, Zuccarello has led the Rangers in scoring over the last two seasons and has recorded the most points (228) on the team since the start of the 2013-14 season. He’s consistently produced and managed to step up in a big way when his team has needed it the most.

“[He’s a] real solid person, real good teammate in the room,” Vigneault said. “He picked a real good night to have a real good game.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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