The Rangers and Reaves need to play smart

The last game ended with a scrum between the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes after Max Domi cross checked Ryan Lindgren as the game ended.  It was, as described by Coach Gerard Gallant, a “cheap shot.”

There was a war of words between the two teams, most notably between Gallant and Tony DeAngelo.  Gallant could be seen mouthing the words either “shut the f–k up” or “grow the f–k up” to DeAngelo who was yapping at any Ranger nearby.

After the game, Gallant called the end of game activities “bullshit” and basically accused the Hurricanes of throwing their troublemakers on the ice as the game was ending to “send a message.”

What’s important is that Gallant basically said that if that is the way the Hurricanes want to play, the Rangers have the players to deal with it, specifically Ryan Reaves. His exact words?  “We’ve got the guy that can handle all their guys if we want to.”

The war of words continued on Monday with both teams weighing in. Reaves spoke to reporters and said that he was “going to do my thing, run some people and get in their face and try to get the same result as last night – another win.”

He continued, “I’m sure guys aren’t going to shy away from finishing checks on those guys just like anybody else in their lineup.  There’s going to be some added nastiness when a specific player does something.”

Carolina  Coach Rod Brind’Amour responded saying “I don’t know what he’s waiting for then.  Everybody’s going to do what they do this time of year…You’ve got to do what you do this time of year, otherwise what good are you? You’ve got to contribute and do what you’re supposed to do.”

Play smart

All of this chatter has put Ryan Reaves under a microscope and he needs to be very careful and stay away from anything that could result in an unnecessary penalty. This is a must win game for the Blueshirts.

Reaves recognized that, saying “I don’t want to say anything stupid here.  You never want to see guys chirp your bench. I was on the ice for that, I wish I would have seen that, I was more looking at the Domi-Lindgren thing.”

He was in fact on the ice at the end of the game and was restrained by the linesman so he couldn’t get close to the combatants.

What’s important is for the Rangers to get under the skin of the Hurricanes and get them to lose their composure.  Tony DeAngelo was clearly agitated at the end of the game and if that can continue into Game Four, it can only help the Blueshirts.

One thing is for sure, the constant booing whenever the ex-Ranger touches the puck is getting to him.  In an intermission interview on ESPN he was asked what it was like to play against his old team and DeAngelo’s answer was all about the booing from the home crowd.

There’s no harm if Ryan Reaves throws some heavy body checks into Carolina players, but he has to remember that the referees will be watching him closely. Better to get DeAngelo to lose his cool and take a retaliatory penalty.

The Rangers’ focus has to be on winning the game and they need to be razor sharp in that focus.  Max Domi is a sideshow and better to play a physically intimidating game, score first, build on the lead and win the game. We’ll see what happens.