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Rangers look to grab 3-0 series lead tonight in Carolina |
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The Rangers have an opportunity to grab a stranglehold on the series tonight in Carolina. New York held serve at home and have a 2-0 lead heading to tonights’s pivotal Game 3. The Blueshirts were in a similar situation in the Washington series, and reversed history, by winning the first - and then the second game - on the road. Game 4 is Saturday, 7pm in Carolina
b>Rangers probable lineup for Game 3 vs. Hurricanes:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Roslovic
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière
Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko
Vesey-Goodrow-Rempe
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Schneider
Gustafsson-Trouba
Shesterkin
Quick
Scratches: Brodzinski, Jones, Ruhwedel, Edstrom and Domingue
LTIR: Chytil, Wheeler
It isn’t broke, don’t fix it seems to be the mantra of coach Peter Laviolette. Despite calls for certain lineup changes, I expect we will see the same lineup that has been in place for the first six games of the playoffs. Six straight wins may mean that Laviolette doesn’t want to mess with success, and as long as the team keeps winning, that likely will remain the case.
Keys to winning tonight:
1) Withstand the initial push - Carolina should come out flying at home tonight to try and establish a quicker pace. New York has to parry that initial foray and allow themselves to be in a position not to have to chase. In addition, even if the Canes get down, as long as it’s close, Carolina will keep coming, so maintaining focus will be key. As we have seen out West, no lead is safe, especially three goal leads.
2) Tweak the 1-3-1 - the Canes have shredded the Rangers’. 1-3-1 neutral zone trap. New York has allowed Carolina too much space, enabling the Canes to enter the offensive zone with speed, putting the Blueshirts on their heels. They need to either tighten up the trap, funneling the Canes to the middle, or force them wider with the two outside forwards back a little to avoid a 2 on 1 resulting from the attack. In addition, if Carolina does gain the zone with the speed, the slot has to be covered a lot better.
3) Special teams remaining special - this almost goes without saying. I expect Carolina to have an edge in power plays now they are at home. We can all hope the game is called even, but that may depend on who the referees are. Hopefully Sutherland never refs another game for New York this postseason. Irrespective of who wears the black and white tonight, New York has to first try and stay out of the box, but if they do, expect even more shot volume from Carolina. The Canes are likely going to try and pepper Igor Shesterkin with more traffic in front, so allowing him clear sight lines will also be key.
4) Match ups - the Canes have the advantage of matching up on face offs as the home team. Laviolette needs to keep this in mind. Granted, certain alignments can’t be prevented. But avoiding disastrous match ups is paramount. He will continue to try and shelter Jacob Trouba and Erik Gustafsson, though that has not been that effective to date.
Alex Wennberg’s line has been deployed properly. I am predicting a goal from him tonight and this trio to be a massive key to the game. If this line can help limit the Guenther-Aho-Svechnikov trio, New York has an excellent chance to grab Game 3 and take a commanding series lead.
Let’s Go Rangers!!!
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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