The Rangers and Penguins meet for Game 4 at the Consol Energy Center on Wednesday. Pittsburgh is aiming to even up the series and guarantee another home contest while New York is trying to take what should be a commanding 3-1 lead. All three contests have been one-goal games and given what we have seen in each, another one would not be surprising.
For New York, you get the sense at times that they are ready to break out. But Pittsburgh has done a good job of clogging up the neutral zone and limiting chances. When the Rangers have had opportunities, Marc-Andre Fleury has made key saves but the volume of chances haven't made him work hard enough to make key save after key save. The Rangers have similarly done a good job on the Penguins' big weapons but Sidney Crosby had another solid contest, playing through what he believes is too much interference and the like (see below).
Evgeni Malkin's back injury has made him somewhat of a shell of his usual self. Rob Rossi on the the Hockey This Morning show advocated again moving Brandon Sutter, who may have been the team's best forward the first three games, to center on Malkin's line, allowing Malkin to move to wing and reducing some of his responsibilities. That would weaken the third line but bolster the second, so it may be something to keep an eye on.
Both teams will likely have the same lineups. Kevin Klein is inching closer. With no formal practice yesterday, he is unlikely to play tonight but might be ready for Game 5 Friday. For Pittsburgh, due to all their injuries, they have few options and Derrick Pouliot, who might be the closest, is not likely to suit up tonight.
Hard work and talent. One can trump the other but need both to succeed. Monday, the Rangers had both aspects on display, which was not the case in Game 2. Pittsburgh, who is playing shorthanded, has for the most part brought a lunch pail game to make up for their lack of blue line talent due to all the injuries. If New York is going to grab a 3-1 lead and/or win the series, the talent needs to be continually bolstered by hard work.
Tonight, New York is looking to reverse recent history. As Pat Leonard wrote: "Since the 2011-12 postseason, the Rangers have won six of their nine playoff series but only once in fewer than seven games, in last spring’s six-game Eastern Conference final victory over Montreal. They hold an astounding 3-12 record in these past four postseasons when holding a one-game series lead, but that includes a 3-5 record in their past eight, thanks to three such victories over the Canadiens."
It's not hard to remember what happened in last year's first series against the Flyers, when New York came into Game 4 with a 2-1 lead and lost. That resulted in a seven-game series, taking a lot out of the Rangers. The inability to put the hammer down and grab a stranglehold on a series is something that has frustrated the fanbase and organization and would be nice to reverse today.
Complaints about the referees is kind of stock for this time of year. We get annoyed as we think not everything that should be called on the opponent isn't. While the opposition fans believe that too much is called and similarly, possible penalties - like the two that some feel were ignored Monday - that should be called were not.
Larry Brooks covered this in his column today. The basic gist of it is that officials are not perfect, players will need to adopt and complaining won't help. Of course, they and we will still complain, as that's part of this time of year.
“Officiating is something you cannot control, so you cannot get into the ‘I thought this was going to be called’ mentality,… Derek Stepan said. “You are never going to reverse a missed call or a non-call, so harping on it in any way becomes a distraction, and you don’t need that. The game is called the way it’s called and it is up to the players to adapt to it.…Players will take what they’re given. They’d be foolish not to; even more foolish and misguided than the league’s apparent desire to bring the game back to 2004.
“You take it as far as you think you can,… Sidney Crosby said. “You try to find the line and stay just on this side of it.
“On the flip side, if you’re the guy who’s being [fouled] and doesn’t get the call that you think you deserve, there’s no point in getting frustrated, because it’s going both ways.…
As we know each game is like its own series, during and after which the emotions rise and fall. Game 4 is tonight; the difference between a commanding lead or tied series. The blog's tone and comments will change accordingly. Let's hope the Blueshirts send the series back home with a shot to clinch.