power play finally came througgh when Fisher redirected a

NEW YORK -- Madison Square Garden underwent a recent $1 billion transformation, and yet it will have another completely different feeling once the New York Rangers hit the ice in the Eastern Conference finals. Gone will be the fear of impending doom that enveloped the club during its second-round comeback against Pittsburgh. Missing will be the nerves that any goal or loss could mean the end of the season. Suddenly, the Rangers are the front-runners against the Montreal Canadiens, and their fans now have the chance to celebrate the ride with them. "Having fan support is obviously huge," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Unconditional love, its something thats really beneficial to a team." New York is riding a five-game winning streak, but four of those victories came on the road -- two in Pittsburgh when the Rangers erased a 3-1 series deficit, and the first two in this matchup with Montreal. The Rangers will skate at the Garden on Thursday night with a series lead for the first time since Game 2 of the first round against Philadelphia 15 games ago. "Its a good feeling, but we know weve accomplished nothing yet," forward Martin St. Louis said. "Were trying to prepare for a Montreal team thats going to come out with a lot of energy. We know that. This is a big game for everybody. We know where the series is, and its a big opportunity for us." Nothing is a guarantee, but to take a 3-0 series lead would set the Rangers up for their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals since 1994. Since New York fell way behind Pittsburgh with a dispirited home loss in Game 4, the Rangers have been playing with a sense of desperation. It didnt reset once they eliminated the Penguins, and so far they have shown no signs they will let the Canadiens recover. "I feel every game is a must-win in the playoffs," St. Louis said. "You go into every game understanding what can happen with a loss and what can happen with a win. Its a lot of momentum shifting, a buildup in the playoffs, and you want to make sure you keep it as long as you can." The Canadiens mindset is to regroup and play the kind of road game the Rangers did by jumping on them. Montreal is still dealing with the loss of No. 1 goalie Carey Price, who was knocked out of the series by injury in the opener, but now is trying to rally around third-stringer Dustin Tokarski. The inexperienced goalie, who has played in only 11 career NHL games, got the surprise nod by coach Michel Therrien in Game 2 over regular backup Peter Budaj and was tabbed again Wednesday to start in Game 3. Struggled forward Thomas Vanek was dropped to the fourth line in practice on Wednesday alongside Danny Briere and Brandon Prust in another potential shake-up. "Dont read too much, OK?" Therrien said. "They might change tomorrow." Whatever the lineup looks like, the Canadiens have adopted a motto of no excuses as the series shifts to New York. "We lost the first two games. Weve got to do something different," Canadiens captain Brian Gionta said Wednesday in Montreal before the team flew south. "But at the same time, we had a pretty good game in Game 2. Weve just got to find ways to get more goals and get to them a little more offensively." They netted only two in a blowout loss in the opener, and then scored one on Monday in a 3-1 loss. The Canadiens grabbed what had been an all-important first goal, but they lost the lead just 17 seconds later and were trailing 2-1 before the first period ended. Henrik Lundqvist was the main reason the Rangers were ahead, holding off an early attack and then a third-period surge in which he stopped all 19 Canadiens shots. He made 40 saves overall. "We are down two, and we are going on the road," said forward Max Pacioretty, who scored the lone Montreal goal in Game 2. "Obviously, we would have liked to have Game 2, but we can only worry about Game 3. Weve got to be better. "We have to make life difficult for their goalie, and if we do that, I like our teams chances." Pacioretty, a Connecticut native, is also looking forward to the atmosphere at the Garden, even though he will be wearing an enemy sweater. "I love MSG," he said. "I grew up watching games there. I love going there. I havent played in the finished building yet, so this will be fun for me." One person who hopes to be back on the ice on Thursday is Rangers forward Derick Brassard, who was injured early in the opener and missed all of Game 2. He went through a full practice on Wednesday and was waiting to meet with the medical staff and Vigneault to see if he would rejoin the lineup. Fellow forward Benoit Pouliot sat out for a maintenance day. Custom Tampa Bay Rays Nike Jerseys .com) - Lloyd Sam struck in stoppage time on Wednesday as Red Bull New York hung on for a crucial 1-0 win over Atlantic Cup rivals D. Custom Houston Astros Nike Jerseys . The Red Wings hadnt played the night before. The Boston Bruins had. A month from now, or two months from now, it doesnt matter. But right now it does matter, when you start and you play back to back, its wear and tear on you for sure, Babcock said. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/?tag=custom-toronto-blue-jays-nike-jerseys .Y. - The New York Rangers have reached a one-year contract extension with goalie Cam Talbot, keeping Henrik Lundqvists backup away from unrestricted free agency. Custom Cleveland Indians Nike Jerseys . Neither player was available Saturday for the Knicks 107-98 loss in Atlanta. "Were going in a different direction and weve got to figure out another spot or two for our ballclub," coach Mike Woodson said before the game. Custom Authentic Baseball Jerseys . Cain departed in the fourth inning of a 10-5 loss to the Pirates on Thursday. X-rays on Cains bruised forearm were negative. He was hit when Sanchez led off the fourth with a groundout.Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Fisher had a goal and an assist in Nashvilles 5-1 win over Arizona Thursday. Fisher, who missed nearly the first two months of the season due to an Achilles injury, netted his first goal of the campaign that ended a long power-play drought for the Predators. Pekka Rinne made 28 saves in Nashvilles second straight win. James Neal also tallied a goal and an assist, while Shea Weber and Filip Forsberg each had a pair of assists. Ryan Ellis, Olli Jokinen and Calle Jarnkrok all tallied goals for the Preds. It was a hard-fought game and we just got timely goals, said Rinne. Mike Smith allowed five goals on 38 shots in the Coyotes fourth straight loss. Its important for us to stick to our game regardless of whats going on and continue to push forward, said Coyotes forward Sam Gagner. Antoine Vermette scored the lone Arizona goal. Two minutes after Vermette gave Arizona a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal, the Predators got a chance with the man advantage themselves. After going scoreless on their previous 28 attempts, the power play finally came througgh when Fisher redirected a Weber shot by Smith to tie the game.dddddddddddd Seconds after its second power play expired, Nashville went ahead 2-1. Smith allowed a huge rebound off a shot by Fisher, then Neal knocked the puck by Smith to give the Predators the lead. With 1:30 remaining in the first period, the Predators extended their lead when Neal puck-handled around three Arizona defenders through the neutral zone and made a cross-ice pass to Ellis crashing the net at the opposite post. Ellis was able to tap the puck in for the 3-1 lead. After a scoreless second period, Arizona returned to the ice putting pressure on Nashville. The Predators called timeout and not even 20 seconds later, Jarnkrok poked the puck by Smith in a scramble in front to extend Nashvilles lead to 4-1. Jokinen added a goal five minutes later to account for the final margin. Game Notes Arizona is 0-12-0 when trailing after two periods ... The Predators were 1- of-5 on the power play, and the Coyotes were 1-of-3 ... Nashvilles Roman Josi played in his 200th NHL game. ' ' '