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Vigneault On WFAN: Beating Carey Price In 3 Straight A Great Ego Boost For Rangers

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- If the Rangers needed any validation that they belong among the NHL's elite teams, they got it in their first-round playoff win over Montreal.

"Any team that can beat (Carey) Price three games in a row is a good team, and we did that," coach Alain Vigneault told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Monday. "We beat Montreal, and we beat probably what people say is the best goaltender in the league three games in a row."

The Blueshirts ousted the Canadiens from the series by winning Game 6 on Saturday night, 3-1.

"It was a hard-fought series," Vigneault said. "Both teams were very similar, very competitive, and two great goaltenders that met head-to-head."

Vigneault couldn't help but rave about Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist's performance in the series.

"He was phenomenal," the Rangers coach said. "Both teams got some really good goaltending. But I think at the end of the day, Hank outplayed Price, who everybody was saying Price was the best goalie in the league. Well, Hank was there save for save."

MORE: Hartnett: Zuccarello's Blue-Collar Effort Lifts Blueshirts Into Next Round

New York now advances to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they will face the Ottawa Senators beginning Thursday night on the road.

Vigneault said he and his staff are hard at work preparing a plan for Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson.

"Ottawa's got a little bit more skill, I would say, than Montreal," Vigneault said. "They've got one of the best, if not the best, offensive defenseman in Karlsson in the league there. Plays big minutes and is capable of making big plays. So it's going to be another tough matchup there -- a team that plays a real structured game when they don't have the puck. They don't give up a lot. They've become a real solid defensive team.

"There's no doubt in my mind what we're going to have to do is pay special attention to Karlsson, their defense. He's in on every rush. He's a great first passer. So it's going to be a different challenge for us, but it's going to be a good challenge and one that we're preparing right now, and we're going to be ready come Thursday."

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