New York's power play goal drought slipped 0-for-its-last-33 and 3-for-41 overall this postseason, and as a direct result, the Rangers fell behind, 2-1, in this second-round series that continues with Game 4 Wednesday night back at the Garden.
BY PAT LEONARD
May 6, 2014
Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins and teammate Robert Bortuzzo #41 defend the net as Brian Boyle #22 and Jesper Fast #12 of the New York Rangers keep an eye on the puck in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 5, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Fresh off 120 consecutive minutes of scoreless hockey, Alain Vigneault crafted an optimistic, us-against-the-world message Monday night to set the tone his Rangers must mimic to climb out of this sudden 2-1 second-round series hole to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I’m happy about our whole team tonight,” Vigneault said after a second straight shutout defeat, 2-0, in Game 3 at the Garden, despite the Rangers outshooting Pittsburgh, 35-15. “We tried real hard. We were forced to play a stupid schedule, five games in seven nights, and I’m real proud of how our guys handled it.”
The coach’s statement could have started a conversation about how events such as Billy Joel and Lady Gaga concerts at the Garden and Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center created a logjam in which there was no optimal way to dodge a back-to-back like this Sunday-Monday turnaround. However, it ignored the fact the Rangers could have avoided this crammed schedule by doing what the Penguins did in the first round: Win in fewer than seven games, and get some rest.
Still, this attitude is how the coach jumpstarted his team’s psyche in January from its poor first half of the season, and he decided after it was booed off the ice Monday night that he’d go back to the well to prepare it for Game 4 Wednesday night back at the Garden.
Pens captain Sidney Crosby and forward Jussi Jokinen both scored on breakaways after expired Ranger power plays as the Blueshirts continued to struggle with the man advantage, going 0-for-5 to slip to 0-for-their-last-34 and 3-for-42 in the postseason. Still, many of Vigneault’s players were in the locker room implying they had deserved much better in this match.
“I’m sitting here trying to figure out why we lost this game,” Henrik Lundqvist (13 saves) said. “There are two plays where we just have to be a little more aware, I guess, but overall a strong performance.”
From the start, though, Vigneault was focused on the schedule, making sweeping changes to his lineup. J.T. Miller, Jesper Fast and Raphael Diaz replaced Derek Dorsett, Dan Carcillo and John Moore to add “fresh legs.”
Minutes after the Rangers suffered their first back-to-back shutouts since the 1937 Cup Finals against Detroit, the coach was listing the playoff slate, if not as an excuse then as another challenge. Diaz (game-high six shots) did help the power play generate more offensive zone time. Benoit Pouliot and Martin St. Louis hit posts early on the power play, Mats Zuccarello hit the pipe off a faceoff, and later in the third, the Blueshirts generated quality chances while trailing, 2-0.
However, they dug an insurmountable hole by not capitalizing on their man advantage.
“I think we’ve played a lot of hockey lately,” said St. Louis, whose body language is starting to reflect his inability to produce. “We’re going to come up for air here, regroup a little bit and get ready for Game 4. I’m not worried.”
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (35 saves) refused to budge at the other end, and Pittsburgh played strong team defense, always with extra numbers back as its forwards consistently erred on the side of caution. Defenseman Kris Letang in particular had a strong game, skating swiftly with and without the puck.
The Rangers are two losses from falling to 0-5 all-time in playoff series against the Penguins, but their message after this disheartening defeat seemed consistent: The only thing they need more right now than a win is a day off.
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