Things to watch for as New York Rangers look to even up series in Game 4
Game Four is a big one for the New York Rangers, and there’s a plethora of intriguing storylines to keep an eye on as they look to tie up their First Round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
There’s no getting away from the fact that Game Three was a tough one for the Blueshirts, who came back from 4-1 down with three second period goals, only to go on to lose 7-4 as the Penguins took a 2-1 series lead.
Those kind of losses can be crippling, especially against a battle-hardened team like Pittsburgh, and how the Rangers respond will be one of the keys to Game 4.
After all, to paraphrase the great Yogi Berra, it gets late early in the playoffs.
There’s also a boatload of other subplots to watch out for, and we’re going to run through a few of them with a crucial Game Four edging closer and closer…
Will Patrick Nemeth get it together?
If there’s one thing that Ranger fans can universally agree on right now, it is that Patrik Nemeth should be benched.
After an underwhelming regular season in which he was a -9 in 63 games played, the big-bodied defenseman has only regressed in the playoffs with a -4 rating.
Pittsburgh has taken full advantage of Nemeth’s struggles and he’s been exposed throughout this series so far, including having a tough Game 3.
However, Rangers Head Coach Gerard Gallant seems likely to stick to his guns when it comes to his defensive parings, meaning that Nemeth is almost certain to take to the ice in Game Four alongside Braden Schneider.
That will no doubt frustrate a lot of Blueshirts fans but, in trying to look at things with a glass half full here, one thing the 30-year-old does have going for him is his wealth of experience and that could be crucial in a Game Four on the road.
And, while significant improvements are unlikely, if Nemeth can at least put together a solid game and help out his goalie while putting his 6-foot-3, 228 pound frame to good use when it comes to using the body, that will certainly only benefit the Rangers.
Learning from past mistakes
While this year was a considerable step forward for the Rangers in the so-called rebuild, there is no getting away from the fact that they are still the youngest team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with little postseason experience on their roster.
That has showed throughout this series but especially in Game Three with an intimidating PPG Paints Arena more than playing their part in an ugly first period for the Rangers.
It seemed apparent that Igor Shesterkin got spooked by the home crowd after allowing four goals on just 15 shots, leading to the stud goalie being benched for the rest of the game.
You could also tell that 10 of the 20 players in the lineup were playing in their first playoff road game, and that proved no match for a Penguins team who have been there, done that and won two Stanley Cups in the heat of postseason battle.
The good news, though, is that the Rangers have now got those growing pains out of the way and stepping on the ice for Game Four shouldn’t be as nearly as intimidating as it was on Saturday. They will know what to expect and they should be a lot better for the experience.
If they can learn from their own mistakes in the first period of Game Three, then that should hopefully lead to a much better start in Game Four, which will be crucial if they want to even up the series.
Stopping the two-headed monster
Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel have been at this together for a long time now, and their fingerprints have been all over this series so far.
That lethal line of Crosby, Guentzel and Rust have combined for 13 points so far in the first three games of the series, and it has been without doubt the most productive line for either team.
Crosby and Guentzel just share this telepathic understanding and they will be out for revenge after being quiet for most of Game Three, with Guentzel’s empty-netter from a Crosby pass that line’s only points of the night.
Crosby, in particular, is playing like peak Crosby and it appears as though he has turned back the clock this series with six points (one goal, five assists) in three games, so slowing him down will be key.
The Rangers did a good job of containing the pair on Saturday, and they must once again force that line to play in the defensive zone and make it hard for them to make plays in the offensive zone. If they can do that, then that could go a long way to deciding which team comes out on top tonight.
Shesterkin’s revenge tour
It has been written to death about Igor Shesterkin’s struggles in Game Three. He allowed four goals on just 15 shots in the first period and, after clearly being rattled by the home crowd, he was pulled for the rest of the game.
It was an unnerving sight for the Rangers who have been so used to seeing their stud goalie come up clutch for most of the season, and indeed through the first two games of this series.
However, Shesterkin has had rough games before this year, notably giving up five and then six goals to the Calgary Flames earlier in the year, but he’s always bounced back.
Back in net for Game Four, the focus for Shesterkin will be to play a clean game and he will need his blue-line to be solid in-front of him too, especially against a Pittsburgh team that will get pucks to the net and crash the dirty areas.
There was also no puck luck in that first period in Game Three, while go back to those two losses against the Flames earlier in the year and Shesterkin had strong bounce-back games immediately after, including a shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
And, as Shesterkin has so emphatically proved this season, he’s a Vezina Trophy-caliber goaltender who has an incredibly high ceiling, so Game Three can be put down to a rough night at the office.
All elite goalies have them.
So, given his high compete level and not wanting his or the Rangers’ good year to go down in flames, expect Shesterkin to carve out his very own revenge tour tonight.
More from Zibanejad
Mika Zibanejad has been pretty solid this series so far with three assists in three games, but he’s yet to score a goal and he’s been stifled thanks to his matchup with Sidney Crosby who, as we mentioned in a previous slide, is playing at the peak of his powers right now.
In order to win in the postseason you need big game performances from your biggest stars, and Zibanejad is certainly that for the Rangers.
With 29 goals and 52 assists for 81 points in the regular season, he has to go back to what was making him a success, particularly on the power play with special teams always the driving force behind any cup winning team.
Crosby’s heroic-level performances have been the spark for the Penguins so, like his counterpart has, Zibanejad now needs to dig deep and pull something special out of his hat in Game Four in order to inspire his team to a big win to tie this series up.
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If he can do that, then that will also go some way to proving that he belongs in the upper-echelons of top centers in the NHL.