Martin St. Louis started the scoring and Henrik Lundqvist posted his first win in Montreal in more than two years and the New York Rangers routed the Canadiens 7-2 to open the NHL Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon.
St. Louis, who is scheduled to attend his mother's funeral with his teammates on Sunday, got the opening goal before Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Brad Richards, Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash also scored for the Rangers. New York had scored only four goals in its past nine regular-season visits to the Bell Centre.
Rene Bourque and Lars Eller scored for Montreal, which saw star goalie Carey Price apparently injure his right leg when he was run over early in the second period. Price was replaced by Peter Budaj after the second period but it was not clear if it was because of an injury.
It was Montreal's worst playoff defeat since losing 8-2 to Carolina in 2002.
Rangers Rout Canadiens 7-2, Take 1-0 Lead
It was Montreal's worst playoff defeat since losing 8-2 to Carolina in 2002
Copyright AP - Associated Press
