In a series that started with little hate and animosity, boy, has it escalated quickly. Coming into the round with the Rangers having come bad from 3-1 down to defeat a major rival in Pittsburgh and Montreal from 3-2 down to overcome Boston, I think most expected there to be some anger just because it was the Eastern Conference Finals, but were we wrong. The Kreider-Price incident lit the fuse but it has blown exponentially since then.
Those of us who have Bull Durham way too may times, remember Crash Davis working on quotes for the media with Nuke Laloosh. Those quotes were benign and meant not to fuel any sort of fire. That has not been the case this series. Following the Kreider-Price incident, the term "reckless" was tossed about at will. Then we went to "lucky" prior to Game 3. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Discussing Derek Stepan's broken jaw, Drs. Briere and Gallagher weighed in.
It seems a little fishy to me,… Briere said. “It seems a little like a game.… "We’re 100 percent expecting him to play,… Gallagher said. “I’ve seen some broken jaws. Usually can’t talk too much and he seemed to be talking fine. … He went in for surgery, I guess, but I don’t think it’s too serious that it’ll keep him out of the lineup, especially at this time.…
Briere continued:
Briere: "Ryan McDonagh's a great defenseman, but I haven't seen someone slash that much since Chris Pronger played."
Montreal coach Michel Therrien gave his view on Derick Brassard returning to the Rangers lineup:
"We expect Derick Brassard to play and we know exactly where he's injured. Hockey is a small world."
Coach Alain Vigneault has not been immune to quotes, as he responded today to what Therrien said and gave his thoughts on Rangers assistants Ulf Samuelsson and Jerry Dineen being asked to leave immediately from Montreal practice Saturday.
Following perceived threat directed at Brassard, AV says he hopes nothing happens to Brassard or Therrien is in trouble...“We were treated very unfairly,… Vigneault said. “There is no rule, there was no agreement between both teams. [Not watching practice] is the exception, not the rule. It has been asked in the past to do that on a couple of occasions. Usually the coach calls me, or the GM calls the GM. Never happened.,,,What happened [Saturday] was uncalled for. Without a doubt, my staff handled it with a lot of class, just like our team, play whistle-to-whistle, don’t get involved with the other stuff. Very regrettable. This is the National Hockey League, that type of behavior – we’re lucky it didn’t escalate.…
Therrien clarified his remarks that the team would not be targeting Brassard but would finish their checks, which also was echoed by Mike Weaver. Plus, the small world portion of the comment is how AV knew who would start in goal for Montreal in Game 2. In addition, his assumption was that there was an agreement. But of course, saying both after the fact rather than at time of the first quotes and action, blunts the impact of it.
All of these quotes are attempted psychological, media and referee manipulation. It's a tit for a tat. One speaks, the other respond. One parre, the other thrusts. Thank god there is a game tonight so that this gets settled on the ice. That said, it would not shock me if all the talk results in some incidents tonight. I would say let the officials handle it, but seeing how well they have managed the playoffs to date, needless to say, I don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about their ability to do so.
For all those who believe that the Stepan hit and subsequent absence is poetic justice for what happened to Price. My only comment is: are you kidding me? One was a hockey play on a skater trying to score who lost his balance with unfortunate results. The other, while stating that he did not target him, came about on a late hit, which was not a true hockey play but one outside of the game,
I am not about to get all moralistic about Brandon Prust, because he usually plays to the line. He felt that he needed to 'set the tone' and 'get the Rangers off their game', by using his physical ability to help his team get into Game 3 early after losing Games 1 and 2. In addition, he likely did feel he needed to avenge the Price hit to a certain extent. As Pat Leonard wrote, he did so to Chris Neil in Game 5 in 2012 to avenge the hit Neil made on Brian Boyle. In addition, Prust hit Erik Karlsson in Game 6, which helped turned the series. So to defend him there but to excoriate him now would be very shortsighted. However, this hit clearly was illegal and Prust recognized what he did, though that does little to fix the problem. Larry Brooks noted how weird it will be for Prust to return in a Game 6, if one is necessary. Plus, how not suspending for more than two games, which many of us thought was warranted, could add a side show Bob atmosphere to a Game 6 at MSG with Prust making his return.
After reading what Prust said and then what his coach and teammates said, there is a major disconnect between the two. Comparing the Kreider hit to that of Prust and then all but saying that Stepan is milking it, you can make your own call on it. The Prust hit led to the Dorsett retaliation and Carcillo hit and suspension. Carcillo should not have touched the official but the was no reason for him to put his hands on Carcillo, especially after he wasn't even aware that a penalty was called. Brooks wrote this today and agreed with Carcillo appealing the suspension. There is no guarantee the suspension is reduced, and even if it is, no guarantee that AV will use, but a reduction could aid his reputation as he heads into becoming a UFA. All those saying this is typical Carcillo, he has been restrained all year. I get the argument that a leopard doesn't change his spots, but this suspension is a lot different from what he did in the past to earn them.
As interesting and captivating all of these discussions are, it's time to focus back on the game. I expect the Rangers to maintain their cool, as they have done all season. AV has done a good job of maintain his, which has filtered down to his players. Focus on winning Game 4, which to me is the best payback, and then win Game 5 and the series.
Montreal has shortened his bench and is using three lines, rather than four. Plus, the Montreal D was gassed at the end of Game 3, as they are having trouble keeping up with the Rangers. New York needs to try and exploit that by stretching the ice and counter-attacking quickly. Pressure the Montreal D with their speed and hard forecheck to create turnovers, like they did the first few games of the series.
When they get those turnovers, capitalize. They had chances in a Game 3. While Dustin Tokarski played well, I thought he was shaky in the first two periods. Granted, he made a few excellent saves on Martin St. Louis, though I felt on the last one, if St. Louis waits a half-beat, he could have been Tokarski up high, given the room that he had there. Tokarski plays the butterfly and leaves room up high, the Rangers have to shoot there, rather than low. In the first two periods, there were a lot of rebounds, but NY wasn't in front of the net or in the slot to bang them home. They need to battle much harder to get to those dirty areas and take advantage of the rebounds left by Tokarski.
This is where the leadership in the room takes over. Brad Richards and St. Louis need to keep New York on an even keel. They need to help indoctrinate JT Miller back into the lineup after he hasn't played since the first round. Rick Nash and Chris Kreider need to help Dominic Moore step up again now that he is playing on the top line. I thought for both Nash and Kreider to have big games. Brassard needs to just worry about producing on the ice, as you knew his teammates will have his back if anything beyond the whistle or legalities of the game takes place. The best revenge is a win tonight.
Also, I know emotions are high, but those that come in to talk hockey, pleas remember they are welcome. If they are coming to stir up trouble or troll, Bo and the other mods have done a good job of policing that. Please show respect to those coming in. But those who do come, remember this is a Rangers blog. All are welcome, but don't try and stir up things for the sake of stirring up things. The Phily and Pitt fans that were respectful were welcomed here and the conversations were excellent and about hockey, the same for the Montreal fans. Don't try and stir things up and poke the Rangers fans who are on edge already and for the Rangers fans in here, don't allow yourself to get so riled up. Remember calm, as difficult as that may be and all, please try and keep the conversations and arguments civil.
Line Combinations:
Rangers:
Forwards: 20 Chris Kreider - 28 Dominic Moore - 61 Rick Nash 67 Benoit Pouliot - 16 Derick Brassard - 36 Mats Zuccarello 62 Carl Hagelin - 19 Brad Richards - 26 Martin St. Louis 10 J.T. Miller - 22 Brian Boyle - 15 Derek Dorsett
Extras: Derek Stepan (broken jaw, questionable to return this series), Daniel Carcillo (suspended 10 games under Rule 40.3, appealing, no guarantee it's reduced and if so, played by AV. Played Game 2-3 in place of Brassard, who was out with the upper-body injury he suffered in Game 1) and Jesper Fast (played first two games against Philly and has been on pine since then).
Defense 27 Ryan McDonagh - 5 Dan Girardi 18 Marc Staal - 6 Anton Stralman 17 John Moore - 8 Kevin Klein
Extras: Raphael Diaz (a heck of a lot better than having to dress Roman Hamrlik) and Justin Falk.
Goaltending 30 Henrik Lundqvist 33 Cam Talbot
Canadiens
Forwards Max Pacioretty-David Desharnais-Brendan Gallagher Alex Galchenyuk-Tomas Plekanec- Brian Gionta Rene Bourque-Lars Eller- Dale Weise Michael Bournival-Daniel Briere- Thomas Vanek
Scratches - Brandon Prust (suspended two games for hit on Stepan) Travis Moen and Ryan White (could get in instead of Bournival for Prust)
Defense Josh Gorges-PK Subban Andrei Markov-Alexei Emelin Nathan Beaulieu-Mike Weaver
Scratches - Francis Bouillon and Douglas Murray (healthy)
Goaltenders Duston Tokarski Peter Budaj
Scratches - Carey Price (right knee, out for remainder of the series)
Rangers (Metro Division) vs. Canadiens (Atlantic Division) - Eastern Conference Finals Game 1: Rangers 7 Canadiens 2, Sat., May 17 Game 2: Rangers 3 Canadiens 1, Mon., May 19 Game 3: Canadiens 3 Rangers 2, OT, Thu. May 22 Game 4: Canadiens at Rangers, Sun., May 25 at TBD (NBC, CBC) Game 5*: Rangers at Canadiens, Tue., May 27 at 8PM (NBC, CBC)* Game 6*: Canadiens at Rangers, Thu., May 29 at 8PM (NBC, CBC)* Game 7*: Rangers at Canadiens, Sat., May 31 at 8PM (NBC, CBC)*
At 8pm, the war of words finally ends, at least for a few hours. A win tonight and New York takes a 3-1 series lead to Montreal. A loss and Montreal regains home ice advantage and momentum heading into a Game 5 in Montreal on Tuesday.
Let’s Go Rangers!!! The Drive to the Stanley Cup continues tonight in New York. The best revenge is a victory.
(Can-Am Spyder, an official partner of the NHL, also has a relationship with Mark Messier. For more information, or to learn more/test drive a Spyder, visit a local dealer (http://can-am.brp.com/spyder/dealer-locator.html)