NHL

Rookie goalie Tokarski had St. Louis’ number, then lost it

Dustin Tokarski has made a habit of robbing Martin St. Louis throughout the Eastern Conference final.

That finally changed in overtime of Game 4, when St. Louis got one by Montreal’s rookie goalie to give the Rangers a 3-2 win at the Garden to get them to the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals.

“I was aware he was over there,” Tokarski said of St. Louis. “I thought I got out there and got set. He just beat me.”

St. Louis was due, because Tokarski had made a pair of great saves against him in Game 3 and another brilliant glove save earlier in Game 4 from point-blank range.

Given all the chances St. Louis has had against Tokarski, it’s not surprising the goalie made sure to keep an eye on the veteran.

The Canadiens were unable to clear the puck more than once, which gave the Rangers that final opportunity. That, as much as anything, is what Montreal head coach Michel Therrien was left to ponder following the defeat.

“We had a few chances to get out of our own end,” Therrien said. “It cost us the game.”

Leaving St. Louis wide open after the Habs turned it over didn’t help, either.

“I saw the turnover and I knew he was there,” said Tokarski, who seemed as if he knew St. Louis was destined to get him at some point.

“He had some time to look where he wanted to shoot. You give players like that some time, they’re going to make them count once in a while.”

The Canadiens, on the other hand, squandered opportunities throughout the match, capitalizing on just one of eight power-play chances.

“We didn’t take advantage of it,” Therrien said.

They will head back to Montreal for Game 5, needing a win to survive. And they’re returning home to where they dropped the first two games of this series.

“We have to get it out of our system tonight,” Tokarski said following his 26-save performance. “We’ve got to win a hockey game.”

They’ll have to win three straight to advance, and they understand they can’t afford to fall behind, as they did again on Sunday.

“We need to improve our starts,” said Brian Gionta, sounding oddly optimistic about where his team stood.

“We’re starting to establish our game against these guys. Hopefully we can continue to wear them down and that will pay off in the late games in the series.”