MONTREAL – The New York Rangers took a commanding 2-0 series

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MONTREAL – The New York Rangers took a commanding 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-1 over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 on Monday at the Bell Centre. Maillot Lucas Hernandez . Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 41 saves between the pipes, but it was defenceman Ryan McDonagh who got the first star of the game as he had a goal and an assist and now has two goals and four assists for six points in two games. With a big series lead and a chance of wrapping up the series back at Madison Square Garden, the young blueliner was surprisingly low-key considering his performance in Games 1 and 2. "Just everybody else around me," he answered when asked what the key to his recent offensive success has been. "You cant have that success without your teammates doing what they need to do and getting you the puck in certain situations. "It was great fore-checking on my goal and simple play by Dom [Domenic Moore] to find me. You play like that and good things will happen. It was great passing by Richie [Brad Richards] on the power play and then just simple plays by everyone. Everybodys really contributing and its showing on the scoreboard." McDonagh now has nine points in 16 games in the playoffs, but six of those have come in the last two. "I was just trying to be a little bit simpler out of my zone," said McDonagh, who - as Montreal fans know all too well now - was drafted 12th overall by the Canadiens at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. "If I have a second or two to make a direct pass, make it. But I was just looking for stick blades too much at times and its tight checking in the playoffs so you want to make sure that youre not giving forwards an opportunity to grind you in your own zone. So the simple plays will work a lot in the playoffs and Ive been able to make good reads and thats helped me." McDonaghs teammates have noticed the changes as well and are happy the hard work is paying off for their teammate. "The last bunch of games hes been getting better and better," said blueliner Marc Staal. "Obviously, we need that offence from the back end and hes really providing it right now. But its also the little things hes doing. "He works so hard on his defensive game and is so hard on his stick out there. Hers smart in his own zone and that cause us to have a lot of offense from it and obviously on the powerplay thats huge too. That hard work is paying off." Head coach Alain Vigneault echoed Staals assessment and credited McDonaghs defensive game - which in turn has led to more offence. "Both go hand in hand," he explained. "Like when Ryans gap is good and, obviously, hes got tough matchups because hes always playing against the other teams best line. "When his gap is good and hes battling hard in his one-on-ones, usually the offensive part of his game is there, and its been very good the last two games." James Murphy is a freelance reporter who also writes for NHL.com, the Boston Herald and XNsports.com. He covered the Boston Bruins/NHL for last 11 seasons writing for ESPNBoston.com, ESPN.com, NHL.com, NESN.com, the Boston Metro, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. Murphy also currently hosts the radio show "Murphys Hockey Law" heard Saturdays 9-11 AM ET on Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio and 4-6 PM ET on Websportsmedia.com. In addition to that, he is a regular guest TSN 690 in Montreal and Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio as well as a hockey analyst on CTV Montreal. Maillot Alphonse Areola . -- Olympic medallist Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que. Maillot Thomas Lemar . "I dont know where we would be without him," McClendon said. "Hes done a tremendous job for us and (Wednesday) was no different." Logan Morrison drove in two runs in Seattles big sixth inning, Young pitched seven strong innings and the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep. http://www.francemaillotcoupedumonde.fr/ .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters.OAKLAND, Calif. - Dwight Howard might not be the only franchise centre who sits out when the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors meet Wednesday night.Warriors centre Andrew Bogut is questionable to play because of right knee tendinitis. He left Monday nights 102-86 win in Minnesota — the Warriors 13th in a row — early in the first quarter with the injury.Bogut and coach Steve Kerr said after the game that they didnt think the tendinitis was anything serious. But any time Bogut is banged up is cause for concern.The 7-footer from Australia is the anchor of Golden States smothering defence, and his seasons have been often derailed by injuries, including last spring when a fractured rib kept him from playing in the first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Bogut has played in every gaame this season, averaging 7. Maillot Thauvin 2018. 1 points, 9.3 rebounds, three assists and 2.2 blocks.The Warriors, who are an NBA-best 18-2, also said power forward David Lee remains out with a strained left hamstring. Lee has appeared in just one game this season.Houston has been hampered by injuries for a few weeks now.The Rockets said Tuesday that Howard (strained right knee) is doubtful to play against the Warriors, and James Harden (back spasms) and Francisco Garcia (strained left hamstring) are questionable. Isaiah Canaan (sprained left ankle), Terrence Jones (nerve inflammation in left leg) and Kostas Papanikolaou (strained right knee) remain out.Houston (16-4) enters the game winners of four straight and seven of eight.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Gear Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Wholesale NFL White Jerseys ' ' '