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The Rangers sit on the brink of elimination following a 3-2 loss to Florida on Game 5 on Thursday. New York played a much better game than in Games 3 and 4, but it was not enough to get the victory. The Blueshirts take on the Panthers on Game 6 on Saturday, and Game 7 will be Monday at MSG.
A few thoughts:
1) Lines: Filip Chytil was back in the lineup after sitting out Game 4 but had little impact. As a result, Jack Roslovic and Kaapo Kakko were on the third line. As Greg Wyshynski noted, that duo with Alex Wennberg got cratered. A minus-7 in shot attempts and minus-9 in scoring chances and minus-6 in high danger attempts. 14.4 xG% (via@NatStatTrick). Those are brutal numbers. The third line had been very solid even if not scoring.Yesterday, they were on for the second goal against, created when a long rebound went past Kakko and Florida came down 3-on-2 and Anton Lundell scored. For Game 6, move Will Cuylle back up to the third line, sit Roslovic and re-insert Blake Wheeler or play Jonny Brodzinski on the fourth line.
2) Blueline: Coach Peter Laviolette elevated Braden Schneider into Jacob Trouba's spot, with he and Miller putting together a strong all-around performance in Game 5. As Vince Mercogliano noted, that duo logged a heavy workload, with many of those minutes coming against Florida's top line of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. They kept them off the scoresheet while blocking more total shots (eight) than they allowed shots on goal (five).
Trouba and Erik Gustafsson were fine but their normal issues were on display again. Trouba continues to take bad penalties and make bad reads while Guysgason is what he is. One major criticism when the year ends is that Laviolette is blinded when it comes to him. If Gus was used instead of Adam Fox on PP1, I could rationalize him being on the lineup. But he isn’t and Zac Jones deserves to be in. That should be a change for Game 6 but won’t be.
Fox and Ryan Lindgren were okay, That duo has not had a great series to date. Fox is playing on one good leg while Lindgren has been burned a few times down low. The pairing was on the ice for the Panthers' tying goal and I am still not sure what Fox was doing on that play, as he just let Gustav Forsling go past him to a massive open area in the slot. A beautiful no-look pass from Sam Bennett to Forsling, but the play was created by Fox - and to a lesser extent, Alexis Lafreniere - letting Forsling go free.
3) The big three: coming into the game, the discussion was if Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and/or Artemi Panarin would deliver. I would say we got 1.5 out of three. Kreider certainly had his best game of the series. He should early on by knocking Sam Reinhart down after a whistle that he was engaged. Kreider notched the shorthanded goal that gave the team a 1-0 lead. CK20 was good, but not great, to me, more is there to be shown and given.
Zibanejad was up and down at best. The good was his primary assists on the two goals. The bad was him having litt;e impact on the game overall. In addition, the lasting memory of the game will be Bennett outworking him on the boards with the net empty and Zib trying to get a call for an elbow or stick to the face that did not look like it existed. New York needs a lot more from him and the dynamic duo and are not getting it.
Panarin was invisible again. No major impact plays, no almost impact plays. Just a lot of up and down with Florida taking away time and space and not allowing him to create. He needs to go to the dirty areas, like Laf is, and try and get a goal like that to get him going.
If you look at the series to date two factors stand out. One, Florida is really good and playing well. Two, they play with an edge and are winning the 1:1 battles. Before the series I said a key was going close to 50-50 on those 1:1 battles as that is where the Panthers wear down and grind teams over time. New York is not close to that figure. They are getting dirty and the Rangers are not, or at least not enough. More traffic is needed in front and snarl throughout the contest. Push first and push back rather than being a recipient.
4) Igor Shesterkin was brilliant again, stopping 34 of 36 shots. He got a piece of the Forsling shot and Lundell goal, even though he was screened by Vladimir Tarasenko on that tally. When New York went up 1-0, my first thought was Igor might need to pitch a shutout to win. I unfortunately was proven right.
5) Game: New York was better than games 3 and 4. As Mercogliano pointed out, the final shot attempts were almost identical − 71-70 Panthers − and although Natural Stat Trick credited Florida with a 21-14 advantage in high-danger scoring chances, time of possession wasn't nearly as lopsided as it had been entering Game 5. Watching the game, you didn't get the sense the Rangers were in trouble but that it could turn at any time. But you also didn't get the sense that New York could score at any moment, which is what also separates the two teams as well right now.
New York is 0-7 in Game 5, a crazy stat. They go into the belly of the beast Saturday in Florida knowing a magical season could end that evening. Laviolette has to put out the best lineup, irrespective of history and feelings, and stop shortening the bench in the second period. I disagreed with pulling Igor with 2:36 left even with the offensive draw as I felt that was 45 seconds or too early and they were burned. But that isn't why they lost.
New York really misses Jimmy Vesey, as the PK has not been the same since he was hurt plus he could move up and down the lineup. Be the resilient Rangers. Find a way to win or steal or Game 6 and come home with both teams having the same pressure on them with the game at MSG. I am annoyed. I am frustrated. I am disappointed. But I am not defeated. There is still a flicker of life. The heartbeat is weak, but it's there. A win Saturday would jumpstart the engine and restore confidence.
I wrote this yesterday and it applies again today. Adversity comes with the territory. Look back at 1994, this round has played exactly how the ECF then played out to date. Loss, win, win, loss and loss. This is a case where maintain that symmetry would be the best end result. Heartbreak and agita and annoyance are all part of the equation.
It’s the playoffs. This is not supposed to be easy. Maybe not as difficult as we have seen, but these are the top four teams in the league playing. Each round should get progressively harder, which has been the case. The playoffs will cause you to question everything you belief. It will shake your faith in your team and the players you root for. You will wish that the pain ends and in the same heartbeat, ask for more as you can’t wait for the next game to start. It eats at your core. You will pace and panic, rejoice and retch, revel and revile, but you will come back for more because we are hockey fans. Either you believe or you don’t, irrespective of what is happening on the ice.
I wrote this in 2014 when the team was down 3-1 to Pittsburgh as well the last two years. What I said then certainly applies now, with some very small tweaks, as at the time, New York had never rallied from a 3-1 series deficit. Running this today and when there is a Game 7.
I am as optimistic as anyone, but would not be shocked if the series ends Monday. If it does, what I want to see is heart, passion and effort. Lose but lose with all of it left on the ice. Show some pride for the name on the front of the jersey. Don't just let Florida walk all over you, especially in your own building, stand up for yourselves as an athlete and member of the New York Rangers. It doesn't matter who plays and who sits, whoever is in the lineup needs to bring it. To quote Boomer Esiason and it's something I have said a lot, win one shift, then another, then another. Then win one period and another. Then win the game and head to Carolina for Game 1 of the next round.
Heart. It's the willingness to take a hit to move the puck or score a goal. Heart. It's what makes the name on the front of the jersey more than the one of the back. Heart. It's what New Yorkers love to see in their athletes. It's rising over trying circumstances. It's carrying a team or a teammate on your backs when needed. Heart. It can overcome talent when talent doesn't have or use it. Heart. It's what needs to be on display Monday when We Are All Rangers.
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