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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. 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. Cheap Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No. Cheap Chiefs Jerseys China .J. - New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara left Monday nights game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn biceps. http://www.cheapchiefsjerseyselite.com/ .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. Wholesale Chiefs Jerseys .I shared with him how much I appreciated all he had done for us, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said of that Thursday night farewell. Cheap Chiefs Jerseys Authentic . The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning and boosted Cincinnatis struggling offence by hitting a double and scoring as the Reds ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Atlanta Braves 1-0 Saturday night.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Chris Jones and Louisville have done a tremendous job protecting the basketball this season and thats led to easy victories. The junior committed his second turnover of the season early in the second half of the No. 3 Cardinals 87-48 win over Hartford in the Hall of Fame Tipoff on Tuesday night. He joked around after the game that they should change the rule for turnovers. "I think they should change the rules when you try to save the ball off the steal," he said. The Cardinals, who entered the game second nationally for fewest turnovers per game with 6, had seven on the night compared to Hartfords 25. Its the seventh straight game dating back to last season that the Cardinals have had 10 or fewer -- the longest streak in Pitinos 13 seasons with the team. The junior from Memphis played his first 67 minutes without committing an error before his pass slipped through freshman Anton Gills hands in Louisvilles last game against Cornell. He now has 17 assists in four games, including four Tuesday, compared to his two unfortunate miscues. His steady play at the point has eased the transition from Louisville legend Peyton Siva, now with the Detroit Pistons, and has earned the trust of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino. "I think Chris Jones is a tremendous point guard," Pitino said. "He is very low to the ground and does not make a lot of mistakes." Pitino, known for his pressure defence, said he has emphasized not giving the ball back to opponents once his club has forced a takeaway. "One of the points of emphasis this year is we are going to not turn the ball over because we are a possession team," Pitino said. "If youre going to press, you are going to be all over the floor trapping and using that much energy. If you just give it away, all that energy was for naught." The Cardinals protective nature continued Tuesday, turning the ball over only twice in the first half. The first came more than 14 minutes into the game when Harrell was tied up under the basket and alternate possession was given to the Hawks. A Russ Smith offensive foul at the 1:54 mark was its only other error in the first half. Even when Louisville gave the ball to Hartford, they were hustling. Their final turnover came following a Chane Behanan steal when his behind-the-back save from his own corner to keep the ball inbounds hit the Louisville rim and nearly went in.dddddddddddd In addition to committing mistakes, Jones is developing a bond with Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell. "I got a great feel for Trez," Jones said. "I know I can throw it to the rim and hell go get it." Harrell led No. 3 Louisville with 20 points and nine rebounds as Cardinals string of blowout wins to start the season continued. He was 9 of 12 from the field with six dunks, one off the school record. Harrells string of slams included a slam off Behanans missed free throw with 4:09 left that put Louisville up 81-46 with 4:11 to play. Russ Smith added 14 points as the Cardinals (4-0) extended their winning streak to 20 games dating to last seasons run to the national title. Jones and reserve Chane Behanan added 11 points apiece. Louisville shot 50 per cent from the field, outrebounded Hartford 35-29. Mark Nwakamma scored 16 points for the Hawks (2-3), and reserve Yasin Kolo finished with 12. Louisville jumped on Hartford right at the start, scoring the first eight points of the game and 22 of the first 30. Harrell passed to Wayne Blackshear for a 3-pointer and Terry Rozier converted a layup with 1:42 left in the first half to give the Cardinals a 42-19 lead before leading by 21 at halftime. The Hawks stayed within reach during the first 10 minutes by hitting 3 of their first 5 3-pointers, clawing back to a 22-11 deficit following Louisvilles opening run. But they missed their next 11 from behind the arc before Kolos triple with 5:01 remaining made it 79-44. Hartford finished the game 4 of 17 (24 per cent) on 3-pointers after hitting a season best 10 of 20 in its win last out against Fairleigh Dickinson. Louisvilles Luke Hancock went 2 for 4 as Louisville made 7 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc. The Hawks saw their winning streak end after beating its last two opponents by double digits. It was their fifth game in 11 nights. Louisville will play away from home for the first time on Saturday when it travels to Connecticut for two games to conclude the Hall of Fame Tipoff, the first against Fairfield. The Cardinals will then play either Richmond or North Carolina on Sunday. ' ' '