New York lost Game 1 of their play-in series 3-2 to Carolina on Saturday. The closeness of the final score is not truly indicative of how the game was played, as the Hurricanes never seemed to be in trouble throughout the contest. Henrik Lundqvist, as usual in the playoffs, was the only reason why the game was close, as he got the nod with Igor Shesterkin deemed unfit to play. Jesper Fast got rung up 32 seconds in by a Brady Skjei legal check, limiting him to just 1:04 of action. The Blueshirts look to even the series in Game 2 on Monday at 12pm.
Condensed game:
Coach David Quinn, Henrik Lundqvist and Mika Zibanejad post-game:
A few thoughts:
1)
Lundqvist was brilliant. Maybe you could argue that he should have been higher in the crease to reduce the angle on Jaccob Slavin's 61 seconds in, but that was a great shot by Slavin. He had no chance on the deflection goal by Sebastian Aho and same on the own goal by Marc Staal, who deflected Martin Necas' shot with his skate. If you have any doubts on just how well he played, look at the save Hank made on Jake Gardiner.
The plan was for Shesterkin to play and Lundqvist found out Friday night that Igor couldn't go and he responded with a typical Hank playoff effort. If Igor can go Game 2, he will be between the pipes, if not, Lundqvisy should put together another fine effort. For those with a conspiracy theory that the "unfit to play" was an excuse so Hank can play, please, that's ridiculous this time of year. Winning is the only thing that matters, egos don't.
2)
Shesterkin: was to be between the pipes in Game 1. So, as Larry Brooks noted, either he was ignored sometime vs. the Isles or Friday in practice. Frank Seravalli's tweet is what we all thought, if Igor is sitting in the stands, clearly it's not COVID related or he would be in quarantine. Now we wait to see if Igor can play Monday at 4pm, which likely will be another game-time decision.
3)
Fast:
No word yet on the injury. but from watching the replay, it looks like either neck, shoulder, chest or whiplash. Any of those could sideline him the rest of the series, depending on the severity. If that happens. I would move Kappo Kakko, who played well, up to the second line and look for Steven Fogarty or Tim Gettinger on the fourth line with Brendan Lemiuex still suspended. How much more stupid does that hit look now? It's possible that we may have seen the last game as a Ranger for Fast, who is in the final year of the three-year deal that is playing him $1.85 million a year. With a flat cap and several RFAs in which to make a determination, Fast might get squeezed out. You know my view of him, and if he goes, that would be a big loss.
4)
Hurricanes dominance: I know you all don't like graphs and advanced metrics, but the two below tell a story. In the first tweet, look at the number of failed exits. That many failed exits, which has been an issue with New York for several seasons, forced the team to defend additional time in their own zone. In addition, the first goal against came after the Rangers were unable to clear the puck, evidencing the importance of that number.
In the second, Fox and Lindgren were the only defensive pair that played well. Up front, the third line, which consisted of Filip Chytil and Kakko was the best trio. Look at how poorly the first and second line for New York played, but the same can be said to an extent for Carolina. One sub-story was the 'Canes forward depth, which was evident yesterday, but the Rangers bottom-six were better than expected. Before the game, if we were told those would be the numbers, we would have expected a Rangers win based on the talent in the top-two lines. That was not the case yesterday.
5)
Ice time. With Fast out, Quinn had to juggle lines. In addition, the 14 combined power plays, thanks to extremely tight officiating, caused modifications as well. But how does Brett Howden finish fourth in forwards in even-strength ice time even with Ryan Strome also out a bit after his fight for repairs? On the flip side, Kakko finished first in 5x5 ice time, which was well deserved, while Chytil and Julien Gauthier both saw uptick in minutes at even strength.
If Fast is out, as said, move Kakko up. Play Gauthier on the third line with Chytil. if you must, move PDG down and slot Howden at wing on that trio. Play Fogarty or Gettinger with Greg McKegg, who wasn't bad but needs to provide a bit more, and PDG. I would love to see Vitali Kravtsov, but given the style of play from the opponent, unsure Quinn trusts him in this situation. Though, if one more loss and Fast is out, he could maybe be an option for Game 3.
Artemiy Panarin was to me, invisible. The slump before play ended and his rough training camp along with his poor exhibition game carried over to yesterday. He needs to be a lot better for New York to have any chance. Chris Kreider also was less than what is needed from him. I thought Pavel Buchnevich had a solid game and Zib was good, not great, despite his goal and assist. Defensively, Trouba, who I thought looked like he was trying to do too much, and Smith were meh while Tony DeAngelo, who was a game-time decision, was far from the offensive blueliner we saw all season.
6)
Special teams. Like almost any playoff game, special teams play a huge part in who wins. Coming into the series, a major question was if New York's power play could make a dent against Carolina's fine penalty kill. In Game 1, the answer was a resounding no.
The Rangers had eight shots on goal on their seven power plays. Let that sink in, eight shots on seven power plays. That's horrific. New York was unable to gain the zone cleanly a good portion of the time. When they did gain the zone, Carolina's pressure made it difficult to set up or sustain an attack. Quicker passes, shots on net, better player movement are all needed.
On the kill, New York missed Quickie. But Carolina's goal was a thing of beauty and their third goal of the game came just after a power play ended with New York scrambling a bit in their zone. This was the difference in the game.
7)
Discipline and little things. In the playoffs, you have to remain disciplined and do the little things right. New York did neither of them Saturday and it cost them a shot at winning. Quinn said similar.
We just gotta to find a way to get more inside, we were too perimeter. We gotta fight our way, being tough isn’t running people, isn’t hitting people, it’s getting to the net, getting inside people and too often we were on the perimeter today.
Running around to hit people or trying to do too much, as Jacob Trouba did, leaves you out of position. Brendan Smith did the same and gave up a 2-on-1. But Buchnevich on the Rangers' first goal, took a hit, got the puck deep, which created room, leading to the goal.
In terms of little things, on the first goal, Ryan Lindgren is defending. His stick is to the left, outside, where it does little good, rather than inside, where he might have had a chance at deflecting the royal road pass that led to Aho's tip-in past Lundqvist. Staal's own goal, his skate is turned in, instead of out. Instinctive play, but the puck hits the inside of the skate, deflecting past Lundqvist. Little things matter.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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