GREENBURGH, New York – The New York Rangers will have to win at least one game on the opposing ice to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Hurricanes are yet to be defeated at home so far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having won six straight in that setting.
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Game 5 of the Eastern Conference second-round playoff series between New York and Carolina is Thursday at PNC Arena (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS). Series four of seven is tied 2-2.
And now is where the serious stuff begins.
“Everything that’s happened so far doesn’t count anymore, we have to look ahead,” said Rangers coach Gerard Gallant. We played two very good games in their building last week. We didn’t win, but we played two good hockey games. We have to keep working, keep playing like that. »
The Hurricanes defeated Rangers 2-1 and 3-1 in the first two games of the series, which they played at home. The Rangers responded tit for tat by winning twice at Madison Square Garden, 3-1 in the third game and 4-1 in the fourth.
Igor Shesterkin had a big impact on the results of Games 3 and 4, as he fended off 73 of 75 aimed at him in both games.
The two games in Carolina were characterized by careful play marked by numerous defensive battles, with few rebounds and few shots on goal; the Rangers had the upper hand 49-48 in both games. The games in New York featured a little more open play and more scoring and shooting chances – 75-61 in favor of the Hurricanes.
Although they were outshot on penalties, Rangers prefer this second scenario and that is why in Game 5 they will try to find the right balance between playing a good game on the drive defensively and take the risks necessary to create space and create opportunities in their favor, even if that means allowing some as well.
“I don’t know if opening the game is the best way to describe it, but I think we can do a good job in the defensive zone, get the puck out and try to spend a little more time in the offensive zone, create streaks more sustained play offensively and continue to circulate the puck as we have done in our two games [à domicile]noted the center player of the Rangers Mika Zibanejad. I don’t know if we intended as such to open the game and trade scoring chances with them, but we wanted to create more offense when we came back here for game three and I think we did pretty well in that regard in both home games. »
The Rangers got there by trying to make a play in the neutral zone instead of always just shooting the disc in the opposing zone and then trying to recover it on the forecheck.
The Rangers aren’t the kind of team that likes to clear and chase the puck, but they did that a little too often in Games 1 and 2. It helped them defensively because Carolina didn’t produce much Nor are they up front, but the Rangers shine the most when they can exploit their speed in transition plays, something they haven’t been able to do.
That’s a big part of why they suffered the loss in Game 1 even though they were leading 1-0 until late in the third period. They didn’t manage to counter the fighting spirit of the Hurricanes well to get the second goal that would have made the difference, and Carolina instead tied the game late in the third period and then won in overtime.
“I didn’t tell the guys to adopt a more defensive game structure [dans les matchs no 1 et 2], it was Carolina who dictated the tone a bit and it was us who sometimes failed to create the opening, Gallant said. It was 28-26 shots on goal in one game and 22-21 in the other. It’s not their habit, but guys tend to be more tense in the heats and they want to avoid making mistakes. I think that’s what those two games showed. The two games here were a bit more open, a bit more dramatic and luckily we were able to find a way to win them. »
Special teams also played an important role.
Rangers’ power play hit home in Games 3 and 4 after being shut out five times at Raleigh, going 0-for-4 in Game 2.
The Hurricanes have scored zero in nine powerplays so far in the series, having been shut out five times at the Garden.
“It’s about restricting the number of chances and chances they get, first and foremost, because if you’re not able to score [en supériorité numérique], you gotta make sure they don’t get any,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. So that’s always the first thing you aim for. There are some aspects of the game that we need to improve. Ultimately, we want to score on the power play, just like they’re trying to score with their power play. It would make a big difference if we could score in these circumstances. In the last two games, we still hit the post twice on the power play. We do the right things, it just has to end up in the net. »
The fifth game represents the next test. The Hurricanes are right to feel good in the context since they will be at home. Rangers aren’t worried because the first two games were close, as Brind’Amour said of his power play in Games 3 and 4.
But now is where the serious stuff begins.
“We haven’t had a bad game yet,” Gallant said. So I expect us to play a good game on the road. »
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