The Montreal Canadiens must put more traffic in front of New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in order to have success in their first-round matchup, says Don Cherry.
The Canadiens were blanked 2-0 by Lundqvist and Co. in Wednesday’s Game 1. They did manage 31 shots on the Swedish netminder, but Cherry said it’s the quality that matters more than quantity.
“I know he [faced] a lot of shots … but he could see everything,” Cherry said during Coach’s Corner on Thursday night. “These guys are letting him see the puck.”
Game 2 takes place Friday at 7 p.m. ET in Montreal and Habs head coach Claude Julien maintains that there’s no reason for his club to panic yet.
“There’s a couple of guys who would be the first to tell you, ‘I need to be better,’ and we all know that,” he said after Thursday’s team practice. “But at the same time, I think we’re a confident group, and if we play our game, I think we’re very capable of winning with the lineup we have now.”
For that to happen, things need to change around the Rangers’ crease, says Cherry.
“You let Lundqvist see the puck, I don’t care who [shoots], he’s going to stop it. The only way you’re going to get him is bug him and they didn’t bug him.”
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