Alexander Radulov OT Goal Gives Canadiens 4-3 Win over Rangers; Series Tied 1-1

Thanks to the late-game heroics of Tomas Plekanec and Alexander Radulov, the Montreal Canadiens earned a 4-3 overtime win over the New York Rangers in Game 2 of their NHL Eastern Conference playoff series.

Plekanec sent the game into overtime with a goal that tied the score at three with 17.3 seconds remaining in the third period. 

The score would stay that way deep into the first overtime period, when Radulov was able to put the puck past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist in a scramble in front of the net to send the series to New York tied 1-1. 

Following the Canadiens' dramatic win, the internet shared its hot takes about what just happened:

After the Canadiens took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, the Rangers got goals from Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello within a span of five minutes to take a 3-2 lead that nearly held for the rest of the game. 

Lundqvist took over after giving up those first-period goals. Even in defeat, he was brilliant by stopping 54 of 58 shots in the game after recording a shutout in Game 1. 

Even when the Canadiens were applying pressure to Lundqvist by getting behind New York's defense, Adam Herman of Blueshirt Banter noted that's when the Rangers goalie is at his best:

One reason Montreal kept getting opportunities at the net was because Lundqvist seemed unable to corral the puck, allowing constant rebounds, prompting ESPN's Mark Simon to offer this humorous solution:

Herman offered an exclusive clip of what Lundqvist was facing while trying to keep the Rangers in the lead down the stretch in regulation:

As was the case with Hodor of Game of Thrones, the force against Lundqvist was too great to hold down. It was also a gut punch for the Rangers, who were so close to taking the series back home with two wins in hostile territory. 

HockeyStatMiner noted the amount of work Lundqvist was putting in throughout regulation made it impressive he held Montreal down for as long as he did:

Yet all of Lundqvist's efforts were for naught because the Canadiens were not going to be denied. This was a huge momentum swing for Montreal, which won the Atlantic Division with 103 points and went 24-12-5 at home during the regular season. 

The Rangers were a much better team on the road than they were at Madison Square Garden this season, going 27-12-2 away from home. This was a game there for the taking they let slip away. They will have to turn the page quickly if they want to defeat the Canadiens in the series.