Rangers in 'good spot' ahead of Game 4 against Devils

One overtime loss on the only 5-on-5 goal they've allowed in three games is certainly not enough to dampen the spirits of the New York Rangers nor make them start questioning what they're doing against the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference First Round.Toronto Maple Leafs Eishockey Trikot

They lost 2-1 on Dougie Hamilton's goal at 11:36 of overtime in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, but the Rangers still lead the best-of-7 series 2-1 and really like how they've played against an opponent that beat them three times in the regular season and finished with five more wins and five more points in the standings.

They won Games 1 and 2 by identical 5-1 scores. Game 4 is at the Garden on Monday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, MSG, MSGSN).

 
Trocheck said most nights because, as always, there are adjustments the Rangers feel they need to make to improve their chances of winning Game 4.


You hear that all the time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Getting pucks and bodies to the net is always a point off emphasis, especially after a team loses.

In this case, Chytil wasn't talking about the actual shots on goal total. The Rangers had 36 in Game 3, including eight in overtime.

But they feel they were guilty of overpassing at times when the right play would have been to funnel the puck at the net in hopes of a rebound or deflection, especially against a rookie goalie in Akira Schmid, who was making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.Gelb Eishockey Trikot

They should have peppered pucks at Schmid and made his life miserable, but they didn't.


The Rangers blew out the Devils in Games 1 and 2 because they played straight ahead, got pucks and players to the net, and went 4-for-10 on the power play with forward Chris Kreider scoring every goal from about a foot away from goalie Vitek Vanecek on deflections and redirections.


Which is nothing out of the ordinary in a playoff series, especially after a team wins the first two games going away like the Rangers did.