AP Photo/Julio Cortez
The Rangers are facing the Devils in what is, for all intents and purposes, a meaningless game. Marty Brodeur isn’t playing, since he doesn’t want to get booed for two hours. Real professional Marty. Anyway, the game may be meaningless from a playoff perspective, but a point gives the Rangers the #7 seed. A win gives them the #6 seed, but Ottawa still needs to finish out their season and they could pass the Rangers with one win in their final two games.
The Devils use two separate forechecking systems. In the early going the Devils play a 2-1-2 forecheck, but once the Devils get a lead, they switch forechecking strategies to a 1-2-2 hybrid trap. In the defensive zone, the Devils –much like the Rangers– play a shot-blocking collapsing box style. However, unlike the Rangers, the Devils’ wingers have the freedom to attack the point if the matchup is right (i.e.: When a slow-footed defenseman is out on the ice).
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Tonight the Rangers are in Carolina in an attempt to clinch a playoff berth. The magic number is at two, meaning any combination of the Rangers getting or the Winnipeg Jets losing two points seals it for the Rangers. That means any Ranger win and they are in. A Jets regulation loss and the Rangers clinch. A Rangers and Jets OTL/SOL and the Rangers are in. Any combination of a two point swing in the standings for the Rangers, and they clinch a berth. Suffice it to say, tonight is big.
On the ice, the Canes play a 1-2-2 hybrid trap, meaning they may forecheck when the opportunity presents itself, but will mainly play a trapping style. Based on the score, they may switch to a 2-1-2 forecheck to pressure the defense and cause turnovers to get back in the game. In the defensive zone, the Canes play a variation of the low zone collapse. They collapse four guys in the middle, but send one man out to pressure the puck. That man will vary, and depends on puck location.
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Jason Szenes for The New York Times
The Rangers are in Miami tonight to take on the Panthers, and can clinch a spot in the playoffs in the process. If the Rangers win tonight and the Jets lose in regulation to Washington, then the Rangers clinch at least the eighth seed. If the Rangers win tonight and the Islanders lose to Carolina, then the Rangers jump to the sixth seed, one point behind Toronto for the fifth seed. There’s still a lot of movement that can happen in the seeding, but a win and a Jets loss seals the deal for the postseason.
As for the Panthers, there’s nothing special to the systems they use. On the forecheck, the Panthers play your traditional 1-2-2 forecheck, which sends one forechecker deep to harass the breakout, and clogs the neutral zone with two guys up high and two defenseman back by the defensive blue line. They use the 1-2-2 as a lead based trap. In the defensive zone, the Panthers are like the Rangers in that they play a low zone collapse. On special teams, the Panthers are like most NHL teams, in the sense that they use an umbrella powerplay and a hybrid diamond/box penalty kill.
For more on Tortorella’s systems read here.
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Fresh off two dominating wins, the Devils are in town to take on the Rangers with their playoff lives at stake. A Rangers win mathematically eliminates the Devils from playoff contention, which should give the Rangers even more incentive to come out strong. The Devils have Ilya Kovalchuk back, and they won’t go quietly. It’s up to the Rangers to keep their momentum going.
As for the Devils, they use two separate forechecking systems. In the early going the Devils play a 2-1-2 forecheck, but once the Devils get a lead, they switch forechecking strategies to a 1-2-2 hybrid trap. In the defensive zone, the Devils –much like the Rangers– play a shot-blocking collapsing box style. However, unlike the Rangers, the Devils’ wingers have the freedom to attack the point if the matchup is right (i.e.: When a slow-footed defenseman is out on the ice).
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(Photo: Anthony Gruppuso, USA TODAY Sports)
The first forechecking look the Sabres give is the 2-1-2 forecheck. However, in certain game situations (i.e., the score, time left in a period, etc.) they tend to switch to a slightly more conservative 2-3 lock. This system also sends two forecheckers into the zone like the 2-1-2, but the third forward sits back with the defense up high. This ensures protection against odd man rushes, but also provides some pressure to create turnovers.
In the defensive zone, the Sabres tend to pressure the points, yet they haven’t been very good at giving Miller protection in the slot. In a must win for the Rangers, they will need to find a way to exploit this and charge to the net. The Sabres also run your standard umbrella powerplay and diamond/box hybrid penalty kill.
For more on Tortorella’s systems read here.
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This is a must win for the Rangers. They dropped the ball in Philly against what was more or less an AHL defense, and now they desperately need two points against the Panthers. They are still on pace to finish their final ten games at that 6-3-1 pace we determined would be enough to make the playoffs, but they sure are making us sweat for it.
On the forecheck, the Panthers play your traditional 1-2-2 hybrid trap, which sends one forechecker deep to harass the breakout, and clogs the neutral zone with two guys up high and two defenseman back by the defensive blue line. In the defensive zone, the Panthers are like the Rangers in that they play a low zone collapse. On special teams, the Panthers are like most NHL teams, in the sense that they use an umbrella powerplay and a hybrid diamond/box penalty kill. There’s nothing special here.
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The Rangers head to Philly tonight to take on the lowly Flyers who will try and play spoiler to the Rangers playoff chances. The boys from Philly are stuck at 39 pts, good for 12th in the Conference and seven points behind the 8th seeded Rangers. This game (and the rest of the schedule for that matter) has trap game written all over it after the war with the Islanders (still sounds weird, right?) on Saturday night. They need to keep their nose to the grindstone.
As we’ve discussed before, Peter Laviolette throws two different forechecking looks at the opposition. The first look is the 2-1-2 forecheck, and once the Flyers get a lead, they tend to switch to a more conservative 2-3 left wing lock. Both systems send two forecheckers into the zone, but the 2-3 leaves one forward high in the zone, while the 2-1-2 sends an additional forechecker in deep. The 2-12 also allows defensemen to join the forecheck.
In their own zone, the Flyers play a low zone collapse, which is similar to the Rangers. This creates a logjam in the high-priced real estate, but gives some leeway at the point for puck movement.On special teams, the Flyers play an umbrella powerplay (like most NHL teams) and a diamond penalty kill.
For more on Tortorella’s systems read here. Read more »
Been a while since a game between these two meant something.
The Rangers are in Uniondale at the World’s Stickiest Coliseum to take on the Islanders in what will almost assuredly be a playoff atmosphere. The Rangers are 4-1-1 in their last six, but the Islanders are 8-1-1 in their last ten. Both runs have put the teams in playoff spots, although an untimely losing streak could see one of them miss out on the postseason. This isn’t a must win, but a win would surely help the Rangers’ playoff chances and seeding.
As mentioned in previous game threads, the Isles run a 1-2-2 forecheck, which they use to counter other teams mistakes. In the defensive zone, the Isles like to pressure the point, but they are known for their defensive zone collapses. Look for blown coverages as the young Isles team still learns to play without the puck. On special teams, the Isles run an umbrella powerplay and a diamond penalty kill.
You can read more on Torts’ systems here.
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After Monday night’s sloppy loss in Toronto, the Rangers are looking to exact revenge on the Leafs tonight in the series finale at The Garden. There is a lot at stake tonight for the Rangers, who are sitting in the 8th spot in the East. They trail the Islanders by two points (with a game in hand), and are tied with Winnipeg (with two games in hand). A win tonight moves them to 6th, tied in points with the Islanders and Senators. The Rangers would have the tiebreaker (ROW/head to head) on both.
On the ice, the Leafs are a strong skating 2-1-2 forechecking team, similar to the Rangers. However, once they get a late lead, they will drop guys back in the neutral zone and trap. In the defensive zone, the Leafs generally play a collapsing box, which is also used by the Rangers and leaves the point men open for opportunities. Their powerplay (umbrella) is fairly standard. On the kill, the Leafs will rotate between a diamond (when the Rangers are playing an umbrella PP) and wedge + 1 (when the Rangers are playing a 1-3-1). They may also use the wedge+1 when the Rangers are using an umbrella to change it up.
For more on Tortorella’s systems read here.
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Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
The Rangers are in Toronto tonight to begin a home-and-home with the Maple Leafs at a very critical point of the season. These are the last two contests between the clubs (the Rangers won the first meeting), and the Rangers sit four points back of the Leafs for fifth in the conference. If the Rangers win both contests, they will leapfrog the Leafs, and possibly the Sens, in the standings. All in all, it’s a pretty big pair of games.
On the ice, the Leafs are a strong skating 2-1-2 forechecking team, similar to the Rangers. However, once they get a late lead, they will drop guys back in the neutral zone and trap. In the defensive zone, the Leafs generally play a collapsing box, which is also used by the Rangers and leaves the point men open for opportunities. Their powerplay (umbrella) is fairly standard. On the kill, the Leafs will rotate between a diamond (when the Rangers are playing an umbrella PP) and wedge + 1 (when the Rangers are playing a 1-3-1). They may also use the wedge+1 when the Rangers are using an umbrella to change it up.
For more on Tortorella’s systems read here.
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