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Rangers even series at two with dominant performance in 4-1 Game 4 win |
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The Rangers evened their series against Carolina at two with a dominant 4-1 win. New York, spurred on by a big Jacob Trouba hit, jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period. For the most part, save for a small span at the end of the second and start of the third period, the team kept their foot on the gas panel. Contributions came up and down the lineup, especially Igor Shesterkin, who made 30 saves in the victory. Game 5 is Thursday night at 7pm in Carolina.
Game recap:
A few thoughts:
1) Lineup: heading into the game the question was which lineup we would see. Would coach Gerard Gallant go with what started or ended Game 3 or make other tweaks? Door #3 was the answer as Frank Vatrano was restored to the first line, same with Andrew Copp on the second. The change was Tyler Motte sliding up the third trio with Kaapo Kakko sliding past the third to the fourth.
Gallant explained the move with wanting to get more speed on that line, which is why Motte was moved up. Kakko ended up with the least amount of ice time amongst the forwards in the win. We shall see what lines start Game 5, but based on the Game 4 performance, a change is unlikely. But who knows.
Kreider-Zibanejad-Vatrano
Panarin-Strome-Copp
Lafrenière-Chytil-Motte
Kakko-Rooney-Reaves
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Braun-Schneider
Shesterkin
Scratches: Hunt, Goodrow (lower-body), Nemeth, Gauthier, McKegg, Tinordi, Jones, Hajek, Gettinger, Lundkvist, Robertson, Pajuniemi, Brodzinski, Huska, Kinkaid
2) Trouba hit - coming into the game, tensions were a bit raised based on how Game 3 ended. The question was how long would it take for the pot to blow over. Partway through the first was the right answer.
Scrutiny over the check makes sense for a few reasons:
1) how game 3 ended with Max Domi cross checking Ryan Lindgren
2) Trouba’s history of “borderline or questionable” checks, depending on which side of the equation you are on
3) where contact was made to Domi
This is what I tweeted last night and how I think it should be viewed by the league offices if there is a review: “Completely legal. Domi falling. Would have been to chest. Elbow tucked. Head not targeted.” Now, if I was on the other side of the coin and a Carolina fan or similar happened to a Rangers player, I am sure I would be up in arms. But if you watch the video of the hit repeatedly, hopefully my view makes sense.
The result from the hit was Steven Lorentz charging Trouba for a fight that further electrified MSG and earned the Hurricanes a two-minute instigator and 10-minute misconduct penalties. Vatrano cashed in on the ensuing power play, setting the course for the Rangers' most complete effort of the playoffs. In the post-game, Carolina coach Rob Brind’Amour didn’t say anything about the hit in his post-game press conference, focusing on the ensuing penalty as part of the retaliation.
3) Balanced scoring - the additions of several players at the trade deadline lengthened the lineup, which has been huge due to the loss of Barclay Goodrow. That deepened group of forwards was evident in the win yesterday. In fact, they have been a big reason for the post-trade deadline success for the team.
Andrew Copp had a goal, which was huge, as it restored the three-goal lead in the third period, and two assists with his cross-ice pass to Vatrano leading to the first goal. Vatrano also added an assist. Mika Zibanejad had a goal as well in the contest as well. Adam Fox added a deflection goal, after Chris Kreider lost his stick but used his smarts and legs to kick the puck and keep it in the offensive zone, and an assist while Ryan Lindgren, the heart of this team, had two assists for the Rangers.
4) Igor- withstood a few early tests, including a huge one on Brett Pesce early in the contest (see below) as he flew across the crease to close up what looked to be an open net. In the second, he robbed Teuvo Teravainen with a pad save then stoned Sebastian Aho with a blocker stop while the team was shorthanded in the third. In addition, he got lucky as Carolina hit a list and Martin Necas missed a wide open short sides attempting to go wide. But that doesn’t detract from how well he played. Overall, another brilliant performance by Igor who is at the top of his game, stopping 117 of the 122 shots he's faced in this series for an .959 save percentage.
Antti Raanta has been almost Igor’s equal. He stoned Alexis Lafreniere on a breakaway in the first. Performed similar to Artemi Panarin. Shut down a 2-on-1 shorthanded chance with Zib and Chris Kreider in the second. So he has not been the problem. But Frederik Andersen has practiced the last few days and it would be a surprise if he was between the pipes for Carolina in Game 5.
5) Ryan Reaves was itching for a fight or to establish his presence in the contest. He got into it with Tony DeAngelo in the second, clearly a carryover from Game 3. Then he resumed pleasantries with Max Domi to end game. As long as he doesn’t go over the line and take a silly penalty, all of this is pure gamesmanship and provides New York with somewhat of a deterrent to what Carolina might want to do.
6) Special teams - New York only scored one power play goal. Besides just the impact of scoring, the tally came from the second unit, who sees minimal time. The first power play the team had on which they were unable to convert might have been even more impressive, as they dominated the full two minutes, doing everything but scoring. The Rangers ended up 1-for-4 on the man advantage while Carolina was 0-2.
7) Home ice - after losing Game 1 at home in overtime against Pittsburgh, New York has won five straight at MSG. On the flip side, the Canes are 0-5 on the road in the playoffs and have been outscored 21-8, including 7-1 the past two games. Carolina is 6-0 at home and for New York to win the series, obviously they need to “steal” one there. If they play as they did the first two periods in Game 1 or all game yesterday, Thursday could be that day.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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