Rangers striker: He’s often our best player Chris Kreider He said. “It was definitely tonight.”
It has to be if the Rangers are going to play in June and win the Stanley Cup, which is their goal and expectation, but a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the first round of the conference will be in Stanley’s favor. cup. Playoffs at the Prudential Center on Tuesday were less about Cistercian and more about how the 18 skaters ahead of him played.
The Rangers have done everything they’ve been told the past few days to slow the Devils down.
[RELATED: Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]
They started strong, took the lead, blocked shots, had sticks in passing lanes, limited turnover in the neutral zone, dominated special teams and avoided risky plays.
Turns out it could be better than Rangers expected.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, SN360, TVAS2, MSGSN, MSG).
“We’ve talked about it, and it’s obviously a cliché at some point, but it’s true, especially when you’re up against a quick, skilful team, they want you to turn them into no-man’s land, and make a freak lunge,” said the Rangers defender. Adam Fox, who had four assists. “I thought we were smart with the puck. We take advantage of the special teams, and that’s a big part of that. They’ll try to get chances. They’ll have their balls too and we need big balls when I do, and we get them. If we play that way, we’ll succeed.”
The Devils built their success this season on their speed and 52-win record that moved the team to second place in the D.C. Division.
The Rangers, Metropolitan Third, know that if they spin him in the middle of the ice, they’ll be ready to beat Shesterkin.
So in Game 1, they were careful with the puck, using smart chips in the area, offloading when necessary, and a live-to-fight-another-day mentality. When the chance to rush came, of course, they did, but they didn’t risk it.
“I think we played the right way,” said Rangers coach Gerard Gallant. “We talked about running the puck, not spinning and giving them a weird lunge, and I thought we were skating hard. But the most important thing for us is to control them well. Spending a lot of time with us.”
Start was a big factor in how Rangers played.
They were leading 2-0 after less than 10 minutes of play Vladimir TarasenkoKreider’s goal at 4:58 and Kreider’s first power play goal at 9:30, a stick deflection just past the right post to pass Fox towards him from the point.
And just as important, the Devils had three solid tackles in the first half, one dribbled 41 seconds into the second half and the Rangers didn’t let them shoot on goal. The Devils also played another power play late in the second half and failed to get a shot on goal.
It’s a 0-4, zero shooting game for the Power Devils, who are 13th in the NHL in regular season at 21.9%.
“They did a lot of good things,” Gallant said of the shootout. “They had pressure on the ice. They played hard on the blue line. They didn’t give out the scores. They did a lot of very good things.”
The Rangers blocked 23 shots, with seven from their fourth line Barclay Goodrow (three), Jimmy Veese (two) and Tyler Mott (two). They have regularly dropped or reduced Devils icy cross passes that they like to use to create scoring opportunities out of the running or into the penalty area.
“They are a highly skilled team with guys of great vision, so they are always looking to play on the other side,” Goudreau said. “It’s a point of interest and I think we’ve done a great job.”
The Rangers weren’t slacking either. They were leading 2-0 and the third goal was disappointing because of that Alexis Lafreniere clearly deviated Jacob TrebaHe shot him with a high stick at 16:08 of the second period.
No thanks required. Ryan Lindgren He scored 49 seconds later to give the Rangers an official 3-0 lead that was extended to 4-0 on Kreider’s second power play goal on another deflection, this time from Fox’s touchdown at 11:07 of the third period. .
“I loved the way we played the whole game and there wasn’t a lot of risk,” Gallant said. “There was a lot of play behind their net. There was a lot of rushing in the game, but not a lot of risk until the penalty shootout.”
Hughes ruined Chesterkin’s attempt to end his first season in the NHL by converting a penalty shot with 2:46 left in the third period, but it was really a window falsification.
Philip Shettle He scored into an empty net after 48 seconds.
“It was a solid team effort,” Gallant said. ” [Shesterkin] I played very well, but I think everyone on our team competed and played a good game in the playoffs. »
