Rangers must use home crowd and character in Game 3

We will see what these New York Rangers are really made of in Game Three of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round today.

After being shutout by the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two in Raleigh on Friday, thanks to big moments from two former Blueshirts in Antti Raanta and Brendan Smith, the Rangers face a 2-0 hole in this series.

And, if they don’t use certain things to their advantage today, then they could be heading into Game Four on Tuesday on the brink of elimination.

So, what are the main ingredients Gerard Gallant’s team need in order to give themselves some life in this series?

Well, firstly, they need to tap into what will be a loud and up-for-grabs Madison Square Garden, and they need to give the home crowd something to latch onto early.

There’s no doubt home ice will play a key role in this series given that the Canes won all four of their home games in their Round One victory against the Boston Bruins. If you drill down into the numbers, the B’s scored just six goals and allowed 18 in those four road games.

On the flip side, Boston outscored Carolina 14-6 in their three games on home ice, so the Rangers need the same kind of domination at MSG and they are going to have to win every home game while taking one on the road if they are to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Carolina boasts the third best home record in the Eastern Conference and PNC Arena is one of the most intimidating and loudest places to go and play in the NHL, so the Rangers must give their opponent a taste of their own medicine today by taking full advantage of a Garden crowd that has been up for it throughout the postseason so far.

If they can strike early and feed off the energy from the crowd, that could prove to be an unbeatable momentum shifter for the Rangers, and they would then need to go steal a game in Raleigh.

The other crucial factor in Game Three will be the Rangers drawing on what got them here in the first place – grit, character and a never-say-die attitude.

Gallant’s team had to win three straight elimination games in order to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round One, and they had to climb out of a hole they had dug for themselves in each of those games.

This current vintage is nothing if not resilient, and the Rangers must now lean on their experiences against the Penguins in order to prevail in Game Three.

As it was for those final three games of the previous round, it is now do-or-die time once again for the Rangers and if they can take the ice with the same mentality that saw them cheat death time and time again against Pittsburgh, then there is no doubt that they will be able to win Game Three and keep this series interesting.

Carolina is an absolute wagon and, as they’ve shown in the first two games of this series, they are just as good at shutting teams down as they are at exploding offensively and blowing teams away.

However, as the old saying goes, when the going gets tough the tough get going, and the Rangers are now in the exact kind of spot they seem to relish and thrive off.

They must now once again put their big boy pants on, put their hard hats on and prepare to battle until the death.

There’s a lot riding on today but the Rangers have been here before and they have that experience and an electric home crowd on their side.

And that will be crucial.