Rangers look to keep foot on gas in Game 3 of Eastern 1st Round
Hope to take commanding lead, end series against Devils quickly after going distance twice last season
That's what coach Gerard Gallant said moments after they were eliminated in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was speaking after the Rangers' 20th playoff game in 40 days, after needing seven-game series wins in the first and seconds rounds just to get there.
The Rangers are up 2-0 in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round against the New Jersey Devils, and their experience from the grind they went through last season gives them a better understanding of why closing this series in a timely manner could matter significantly down the road.
Win Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN1, CITY, TVAS2), and the Rangers will have an opportunity to leave a lot of gas in their tank for the rest of what they expect to be another long playoff run.
"We're aware that we've put ourselves in a good spot here coming home, but every game is different," center Mika Zibanejad said Friday. "It's something that we learned last year, and we've got to take advantage of the position we put ourselves in. All that matters now is to get a win Saturday]. We don't look ahead."
***[RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]*
The Rangers also learned last year about being on each side of a 2-0 series.
They lost Games 1 and 2 on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. They came back and won the series in seven games.
The Rangers won the first two games of the conference final at home against the Lightning. They lost the next four games because they basically had nothing left.
That experience should have value for them now too; understanding that the Devils, if they heed their words, simply won't just go away without a fight, and taking a 2-0 lead for granted could be a recipe for a long series or even a disaster.
"We've got some experience this year from what we went through last year because we had all different situations," forward Filip Chytil said. "But this year is different. We went up 2-0 on the road. That's new for us. That didn't happen last year. So now it's another experience. Now we have to come home and get the two wins … because we earned the two games on the road."
They did so by playing their two most diligent games of the season, especially considering the opponent's strength and the stakes.
The Rangers were not perfect with their puck management through the neutral zone in Games 1 and 2, but they were darn close. They were smart and limited turnovers, hardly ever fueling the Devils' speed, their best attribute and the reason for 52 wins during the regular season.
"It's the best we've been in the neutral zone as far as not turning the puck over as much and limiting the opponent's time and space," forward Vincent Trocheck said. "It's the best we've been."
Of course, it's hard to ignore the fact that the Rangers dominated special teams, going 4-for-10 on the power play and 7-for-8 on the penalty kill. That no doubt is a huge reason for their consecutive 5-1 wins at Prudential Center on Tuesday and Thursday.
So too is the play of goalie Igor Shesterkin, who allowed a total of two goals, including one on a penalty shot, on 52 shots (1.00 goals-against average, .962 save percentage).
But the Rangers outscored the Devils 5-0 at 5-on-5 in Games 1 and 2 largely because of their neutral zone play.
"It's been good so there's no reason for us to change that or become safe now and just chip it out and not make plays," Zibanejad said. "If it's there it's there, and I think all of us are smart enough to know when we can make plays and when the right play is to just get it behind them and challenge them that way. That's what we've talked about for two years now, what we want to do and what we have to do. I think we've done a good job, but I think we can get even better and we have to be even better tomorrow."
The challenge will be different in Game 3. The Devils will be, or at least should be, desperate because of the situation they're in, and the Rangers will have the surge of what should be a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd behind them.
They can't get caught up in showtime on a Saturday night on Broadway and start opening it up to entertain. That would be opening a chance for the Devils to get some life at a time when they're on the ropes.
"I think they're going to be happy when we win," Zibanejad said of the Garden crowd. "Wins are the most important thing right now. It's fun for any fan to watch [a game] going back and forth, a lot of goals, this and that, but we know from last year how loud our crowd gets from a blocked shot, a save from Igor, whatever it might be. That's something we all know and feel on the bench. The only thing that counts is a win."
