New York Rangers Can Take Stranglehold on the Series With a Win Tonight in Game Four
By Conor Power
This Eastern Conference Finals has been a back-and-forth affair that's seen both teams presented with the chance to grab the series by the scruff of the neck. Neither team has been dominant in their play, but the New York Rangers hold a 2-1 series lead as we approach game four tonight from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. We know we're coming back to New York. We don't know if the Rangers will play for a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals or if the series will be tied.
After New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, for his elbow on Evan Rodrigues in game three, there is an expectation the Ranger captain will have to answer the bell in a bout at some point during the game tonight. Trouba has never been one to shy away from a fight, so we may see Trouba drop the gloves to answer for his fine.
New York has won the last two games in the extra frame, so there's every chance we see this one go beyond the allotted sixty minutes. If this becomes a war of attrition, the Rangers' depth will have to overpower that of the Panthers if they want to come home with a chance to clinch the organization's first Stanley Cup Finals berth in a decade. All it takes is a win tonight to make that more likely than yesterday, and that's all we can ask for.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Filip Chytil
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Jack Roslovic - Alex Wennberg - Kaapo Kakko
Will Cuylle - Barclay Goodrow - Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Florida Panthers
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
Matthew Tkachuk - Sam Bennett - Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Loustarinen - Anton Lundell - Vladimir Tarasenko
Steven Lorentz - Kevin Stenlund - Kyle Okposo
Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Puck Drop
Tonight's game will start at 8 p.m. Eastern. Florida needs a win to send this series back to New York tied. The Rangers can give themselves a chance to win the series on home ice if they can take the win tonight. Two tight games followed the Rangers shutout in game one, so we will see if the Rangers can create a scenario where they are playing for a Stanley Cup Finals berth on home ice.