The Rangers moved one game closer to a series win with a 3-1, Game 3 win over the Capitals on Friday. New York rode an even-strength tally (Chris Kreider), shorthanded goal (Barclay Goodrow) and power play marker (Vincent Trocheck) to the win. Igor Shesterkin rebounded from allowing a questionable first goal to stone Washington the rest of the way in another sterling performance. The Blueshirts go for the series clincher tonight in DC.
Rangers probable lineup tonight for Game 4 vs. Capitals:
Scratches: Brodzinski, Jones, Ruhwedel, Edstrom and Domingue
LTIR: Chytil, Wheeler
Game recap:
A few thoughts:
1) Shesterkin was dominant after a knuckle puck from John Carlson beat him. His anticipation, lateral movement and rebound control were all Vezina quality in the victory. Igor stopped the last 25 shots he saw, several of them from high-danger spots to pick up his third straight victory.
Alex Ovechkin with a prime scoring chance on the PP, stoned. Hendrik Lapierre in the middle of the ice after a bouncing puck came to him, shot swallowed up like it was nothing. A point-blank chance from Max Pacioretty in the second period with the score 2-1, a full-split save. We are seeing the repertoire from Shesterkin who has raised his game each contest. His fine play is a major reason why New York is up 3-0 in the series.
2) The penalty kill is another huge factor. Beyond just the stoned man advantages, New York has turned the tide on several chances, creating O from D, as they did Friday. Great work from Trocheck and Goodrow created the 2-on-1 with Trocheck taking advantage of Ovi being the man back to get the puck to Goodrow who went across the grain to beat Charlie Lindgren. Goodrow stepped up his game the last month of the season and has been excellent this series.
The Blueshirts allowed just eight shots on goal across 12 minutes of power-play time in Game 3, stoning the Caps on all six PP chances. For the series, the Rangers are 13-for-15, continuing the theme from the regular season when they finished third in the league with an 86.4% success rate, Zibanejad and Kreider as one forward pair and Trocheck/Goodrow as the other have tremendous chemistry and anticipation. Add in solid play from the blueline and the performance in net by Igor and it's a recipe for success.
While the Rangers have been good this series, presuming they advance, they need to do a better job of limiting penalties. Granted, a good part of that is because of the officials in this series, but 15 penalties in three games is too many.
3) Matt Rempe's hit on Trevor van Riemsdyk - first, if anything, the call should have been boarding not interference. Second, the contact was a tad late, though not egregious, and high, but his elbow and arm were tucked next to his body. You can argue that van Riemsdyk let down his guard down resulting in the greater impact of the contact and because Rempe is so tall, the point of impact was high. But Rempe is getting a reputation - earned or unearned - that will stay with him.
Rempe will be a target in Game 4, not just from the Capitals but from the officials. He needs to have his head on a swivel and expect a late hit or two. Rempe needs to be smart and not respond, which is what he has done to date.
The fourth win in a series is the hardest. As long as they still have pride, Washington should lay it all on the line today, especially after the criticism from their coach the last few games. Take the crowd out of it early, though even after a good start Friday, they ended up behind, but just for 34 seconds. Friday's win sent a message that these aren't the same Rangers. Sunday's game needs to be more of the same. Find a way to get the win and lock up the series without needing to come back to MSG for a Game 5 especially since the Islanders just extended their match up against the Canes for at least one more game. The last Rangers' sweep was 2007 versus Atlanta, it's high time for another one.
As a reminder, I am out of pocket tonight through Tuesday night. Hopefully, my next blog is a series winning recap blog and look forward to the next round.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»