New York Rangers to Face Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Four

The New York Rangers are looking to play all 60 minutes in Game Four to hopefully beat Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 3-1 lead in the series.

"“WE ARE GOING TO PLAY ALL 60 MINUTES FROM HERE ON OUT” – Ryan McDonagh"

These words were spoken by the Rangers Captain in the locker room after Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was moments before giving Dan Girardi the broadway hat. No surprise Girardi earned it with two assists, six blocked shots and four hits during that game, not to mention a whopping 26:06 of ice time.

The look on Giradi’s face when Ryan McDonagh announced he was the winner was priceless. Shortly after, he jokingly tries to place the second piece of the Stanley Cup puzzle closer to the top. You can watch the video of him receiving the Broadway hat here.

Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game Four

Time: 7:00 pm EST
Location: Consol Energy Center – Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: NBCSN

What we can expect:

We hope that we can rely on the Rangers to try to open up the scoring first. The blue-shirts have done it in each of the three games so far in this series. Keeping that kind of momentum will surely set the tone for the entire game.

We can also expect that this game will be fast and played with desperation. The Penguins will be out for blood to try to tie the series again. If you thought the last seven minutes of game three were intense, just wait until tonight.

The New York Rangers:

I am glad to hear McDonagh say that from here on out they will be playing all 60 minutes. I hope I am not alone in thinking the Rangers were running out of gas about midway through the third period. Just shortly after Patric Hornqvist scored the Penguins only goal at 13:12. The Rangers were getting a little sloppy which almost resulted in a second goal by Chris Kunitz with under 30 seconds left.

The first two periods were beautiful examples of how fantastic the Rangers can be, especially being the visiting team. No surprise they have won 28 road games in the regular season. They looked comfortable on the ice and played with the focus we would expect going in to a playoff game. Rangers Line Up Found Here

New York Rangers

The Pittsburgh Penguins:

I am not sure what these tuxedo wearing web-foots are thinking, but if they think they are going to beat the Rangers they are going to have to stop taking ridiculous penalties for stick infractions. Granted the Rangers are not capitalizing on all of these power plays, the Penguins can not expect that will always be the case. Ian Cole snapped the first cross-check at 16:50 into the first period. That was a whole 12 minutes before they even got their first shot on goal.

Which leads me to the next item the Penguins will need to work on if they want to beat the Rangers. It took them over 15 minutes to get the first shot on goal in the first period and over nine minutes in the second. That tells me that the pressure and puck possession were fantastic by the Rangers but not so much for the Penguins. You can bet their will be a lot of battle for the puck tonight which could potentially lead to a lot of frustration. Penguins Line Up Found Here

The Goal:

The goal for this game needs to be more of the same type of play the Rangers had in the first two periods of Game Three. Maybe they could get us a four goal lead with a shut out. That would keep us fans from having any more breathing difficulties or heart palpitations during the last few minutes of the game.

No doubt this series has already had its share of wild ups and downs but as a Ranger fan, there is no other place I would rather be than here in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I’m ready for the Rangers to win Game Four tonight.

Next: New York Rangers Strong Defensive Play Wins Game Three