Both teams had legitimate reason to complain about the officiating in the second period, but after 40 minutes of play, only the Ottawa Senators have let a poorly-called game affect them. The New York Rangers were able to tie the Game 6 on a Derek Stepan goal at the 8:55 mark of the second period, and Ottawa couldn't grab the lead back after Chris Kreider was whistled for a weak goalie interference call.
Senators Vs. Rangers, NHL Playoffs 2012 Game 6: New York Grabs Control, Takes 3-1 Lead
That's because while on that power play, Nick Foligno was called for an equally weak infraction at the other end of the ice, and the resulting Rangers power play turned out to be quite the momentum swing.
Brad Richards' goal at the 17:08 mark of the second, a blast that cleanly beat goalie Craig Anderson, gave the Rangers their first lead of the game. Just 2:11 later, Kreider scored his first NHL goal to open the Rangers' lead up to 3-1, and while you might be able to look back at the Foligno call as the turning point in the period and the game through 40 minutes, the fact is that the Rangers took advantage of the opportunity while the Senators sat back.
New York will almost certainly buckle down defensively in the third period, and with Henrik Lundqvist in net, it's going to take some work for Ottawa to grab control of the game yet again and force the Rangers out of the postseason in Game 6.
We’ll have more on Game 6 of Senators-Rangers in this StoryStream. For more on the Sens, head over to Ottawa Senators blog Silver Seven. You can find more on the Blueshirts over at New York Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter.
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