How many of you expected to read this sentence when training camp started, with the Rangers just one win away from advancing to the conference finals?
1. All eyes will be on the favorites for Game 6 on Thursday in Raleigh, N.C., but the Blueshirts are trying, trying, trying, and three strikes don’t mean they’re out. also need to be recognized.
The Rangers can’t put too much emphasis on getting through in this game, and if a Game 7 is needed, they’ll already be mentally defeated before the puck drops.
In NHL history, four teams have overcome a 3-0 deficit to win in the best-of-seven. However, there are five teams that held a 3-0 lead and then came from behind to win Game 7.
Thursday is fine, but Thursday doesn’t mean you absolutely have to win.
2. There’s a fine line between panic and stubbornness. That’s a tightrope head coach Peter Laviolette and his staff will have to navigate with this approach.
It doesn’t seem like Blake Wheeler, who was just cleared to practice without restrictions after suffering a serious season-ending foot injury on Feb. 15, is a realistic option. It seems highly unlikely that Filip Sitil will be in a position to take his place as he deals with the physical aftereffects of playing his first game in 189 days last Thursday. Lineup adjustments will have to come from within.
Jimmy Vesey, who brings speed and jam to the ice, needs more ice time and a more prominent role and should be shifted to the right side along with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.
At the same time, BFF’s current right winger Jack Roslovic will have to move Alex Wennberg down to the fourth unit and into the middle of the recreated third line.
Zibanejad’s side has had little zone time in the past two games and was never a 5-on-5 threat, and Zibanejad’s side has had little physical work in the Game 5 debacle.
Vesey, who has an 11:57 eye par, is a puck digger and puck retriever who escalates the tempo of No. 20 and No. 93 during three-horse play. The Rangers were on the line for 3.65 goals per 60 minutes and 16 seconds per 60 minutes during the season. This was the best 60-par percentage for Kreider and Jibanjido with the right wing.
Roslovic is the kind of player who has definitely had his moments throughout the tournament. But it’s been hit-or-miss, and the Rangers need more stability at the top. But he’s an aggressive guy. And that’s what his third line needs at the moment.
Also. It’s in the top 6. It’s on the marquee guys. But the Rangers need to get production out of their third line with Wennberg in the middle between Will Quill and Kaapo Kakko. This unit is likely a darling of analytics, with two goals and no conceded in the playoffs and an expected goals percentage of 68.04 percent through 59:31.
But Wenberg can’t shoot the puck. The Swede had a great chance head-on early in the first period of Game 5, but couldn’t get the puck into the net. Roslovic will always try to shoot the puck with defensive support from Kakko, who is honest.
3. The power play was so dysfunctional in Monday’s 4-1 loss that assistant power play coach Michael Peca hooked the first unit with 58 seconds left on his first chance late in the first period. He gave a throw to the second unit. Defense zone draw.
Defensive zone draws are different, and of course defensive awareness is required when playing with the man advantage, but again, did he really challenge Wennberg in the second unit offensively?
Four. A year ago, in what seemed like another galaxy in New Jersey, the Rangers called for an adjustment that clearly wasn’t enacted against the Devils and couldn’t slow them down.
As this series progresses, Keynes becomes increasingly dominant in the space-time game. The Blueshirts always looked like they were in a hurry, forcing them to resort to plays like throwing into the neutral zone, coming off the sticks, and hoping to survive another day.
Meanwhile, the Canes exploded out of their zone and were able to break through the Blueshirts in a 1-3-1 as if it were training. There is always a weak point exit with open space. The Rangers need to address that.
The Rangers will have to adjust.
