There is no other way to put it, this game against Montreal is the biggest game of the year. With Florida in a virtual tie, a loss here would be crippling to their morale and playoff chances. The Rangers need to win this game, and it doesn’t matter if it comes in regulation, OT or a shootout. They NEED two points. I don’t think anyone can stress this enough, as Carp has been really banging this point home for the past week.

Since the 3rd period seems to be the Rangers failing point, they will need to come out in the first two periods and just dominate the game, both on the ice and on the scoreboard. The good news is that it might be easier on the Rangers to do this, with both Markov and Schneider out for what looks like the remainder of the season. That takes away their PP QB, well, QBs. I looked through their roster, and I don’t know any other defensemen on that team that are capable of leading the PP. (Random side note: Les Habitants have 4 players born in the New York/Long Island area. Komisarek, Schneider, Higgins, and Boullion. Who knew?)

The Rangers will need to be perfect, or near perfect. This means no soft goals allowed, no/limited odd man rushes against, crashing the net, burying opportunities, killing penalties, and most importantly, powerplay conversion. Antropov will be playing, so no worries about Voros taking his spot. They will need Rozsival and Redden to play like a first line pairing. They will need to play fast, physical, and aggressive hockey. They will need to know when to pinch and when not to pinch. That’s all I can think of right now.

Expect the same lines we have seen.
As per Zip, the lines are:
Avery-Gomez-Antropov
Naslund-Drury-Callahan
Sjostrom-Dubinsky-Zherdev
Korpikoski-Betts-Orr

I’ll be sitting in the Blues tonight, section 405, expecting a rowdy crowd/playoff crowd. The game is on MSG+ tonight, 7pm start.

Can I get a Let’s Go Rangers?

Share: 

More About: