Can the Rangers duplicate what the Flyers did to the Bruins in 2010?
Only three teams in Stanley Cup Playoff history have climbed back from a 3-0 deficit to win their series. That’s the tall task that now faces the Rangers after they fell to the Bruins on home ice in Game Three, the team’s first loss at Madison Square Garden since March 24th. Things are looking awfully bleak and it certainly seems unlikely that New York will become the fourth team on that list.
Boston has been doing a lot of things well and has played much better than many expected. The Bruins’ defense has given the offensively challenged Rangers no time or room to operate, Torey Krug has added a new dimension to Boston’s attack, and the Bruins’ fourth line has abused New York in all three games. Read more »
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The Rangers are in one helluva hole right now, down 3-0 to the rolling Bruins after their 2-1 loss in Game 3. The Rangers didn’t really deserve to win this game, but the way it ended was one of the oddest endings to a game I have ever seen. That said, the lucky bounce wasn’t the reason why they lost. The Bruins outplayed the Rangers in every facet of the game for the third straight game of the series. The Rangers now face an elimination game on Thursday night in Game Four. On to the goals:
Rangers 1, Bruins 0
Derek Stepan won an offensive zone face off, and Ryan McDonagh got a shot off that was blocked and sat on Patrice Bergeron’s stick for a clear. The clear was blocked and McDonagh took a soft wrister from the blue line with half a dozen guys in the shooting lane. You can see from the replay that Tuukka Rask was leaning to his glove side to see the shot, and McD’s shot went to his stick side. Somehow the shot actually got through –after a Taylor Pyatt deflection– and just beat Rask. Not much to break down, but Bergeron is a lot better than that clear. No picture on this because it didn’t come out the way I would have liked, and I didn’t think we needed a picture of Rask leaning left to see the shot.
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Corey Sipkin/ New York Daily News
Entering Game Three, the Rangers find themselves in a very similar situation. They come home down 2-0, after dropping the first two in Boston, the second one in epicly poor fashion. Just like last round, the Rangers find themselves in need of holding serve at MSG and sending the series back to Boston tied at two games a piece. This team did it once before, and they are perfectly capable of doing it again. This series is far from oer.
Series Previews:
Game 2 goal breakdown
Positives/negatives of Game 1
5 keys for success for the Rangers
Rangers/Bruins second round preview
Five keys for success against the Bruins
Scouting Tuukka Rask and his goaltending style
Previewing the Bruins and their systems/styles of play
Read more »
Today the Rangers look to avoid going back to MSG down 2-0. In game 1 the Blueshirts stayed with the Bruins until OT where they were out-shot 16-5, half of which was on that one power play. Although it wasn’t a great game by any means, I thought the Bruins looked very beatable. Sure they have depth and an ability to roll four lines, but at no point did I feel like any of their guys were legit threats to send us home packing. That nervousness for me just wasn’t there the way it was against the Caps, or even the Devils or Senators last year. I know that’s not much of an analysis, but that’s what the gut was telling me. Anyone feel differently?
Side note: The media has made a big fuss over Henrik Lundqvist’s losing record in OT during the playoffs. Interesting that no one is mentioning Martin Brodeur’s career playoff OT record of 12-21 (.364)
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Well, I think we’ve witnessed the advantage of earning home ice in the playoffs, wouldn’t you say? After falling into an 0-2 hole against Washington in the first round, the Rangers dropped the first game of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup against the Bruins in overtime. After a lengthy feeling out period, the play opened up late in the second and into the third frame. The teams were relatively even until overtime, when the Bruins got chance after chance until Brad Marchand finally notched the game-winner at 15:40. Some positives and negatives from Game One:
Positives
- As we noted in the keys to the series, Boston was the league’s best faceoff team in the regular season for the second year in a row, but New York did a good job of keeping things relatively even in Game One. Derek Stepan had a miserable night on draws, going 5-14, but the rest of the Rangers were a combined 25-23. Not terrible, and the Rangers did get a few scoring opportunities off faceoff wins.
- Perhaps whatever issues were plaguing Rick Nash in the first round are now behind him? This was easily Nash’s best performance since Game One against Washington. The Rangers’ offensive leader set up Ryan McDonagh’s goal, drew a penalty on Zdeno Chara and generally skated much better and seemed to have a bit more mustard on his shot. We expected him to have a tough time with Chara in this series, but Nash did very well in Game One. Read more »
Last time they played, Eddie was in net (Photo: AP).
The Rangers and Bruins are set to do battle in the playoffs for the first time in 40 years tonight. Over the past few seasons the Rangers and Bruins have grown a mutual respect for each other, as they both play the same type of game. That game being physical, winning board battles, and getting goals at even strength. They both have solid defense and an awful powerplay. This series will be won at 5 on 5. Be sure to check out all of our series preview posts, which will prep you for the next two weeks of grueling hockey.
Five keys for success against the Bruins
Rangers/Bruins second round preview
Scouting Tuukka Rask and his goaltending style
Previewing the Bruins and their systems/styles of play
Read more »
Rick Nash will have his hands full with Zdeno Chara
A slew of injuries to Boston blueliners have some convinced the Rangers will roll through their second round matchup, but we should know by now that nothing comes easy for New York. Still, the Blueshirts have a good shot at advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals if they follow these keys to victory.
Mitigate Boston’s advantage on faceoffs
It’s no coincidence that the team with the faceoff edge won five of seven games in New York’s first round matchup. Sure, there’s more to it than that, but winning faceoffs is one way to guarantee puck possession. For the second year in a row, Boston led the league in faceoff percentage by a wide margin, at 56.4%. First round hero Patrice Bergeron (62.1%) is far and away the best faceoff man in the league and will be a handful in this series. New York has been bipolar at the dots all year long, but the Rangers’ pivots will have to bring their “A” game to slow down Boston. Read more »
Tuuuuukkkkkkkaaaaaa
After dispatching a tough Washington Capitals team in the first round, the Rangers have been rewarded with the Boston Bruins as their next opponent. Boston is coming off a somewhat improbable victory over an upstart Maple Leafs squad who is trending in the right direction. Opposing The King in this series will be former Maple Leaf, Tuukka Rask.
Rask is a former 1st round pick of the Leafs (21st overall), who was moved to the Bruins for Andrew Raycroft (!) just before the 2007 season. Rask was putting up solid numbers in Finland, but was just 19 years old at the time of the deal. Toronto needed established goaltending now, and had Justin Pogge waiting in the wings. This left Rask expendable, and former Bruin’s interim GM and current Rangers assistant GM, Jeff Gorton, was more than willing to make that deal. Obviously, this one worked out well for Boston. Rask made it over to North America in 2009-2010, and has been groomed as Boston’s goalie of the future ever since.
Ok, enough with the history lesson, let’s break down Rask’s game. Since Tim Thomas was the starting goalie in Boston the last time I scouted the B’s, Rask gets the full format. General style, strengths, weaknesses and how the Rangers should approach the matchup. Here we go… Read more »
Jim Davis/Globe Staff
For the first time since 1973 the Rangers will square off against the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs. What was once a fierce rivalry between these two teams has been dormant for decades. That is all about to change real soon as another chapter will be written in sports history between these two cities.
Putting aside the obvious narratives about the two famed franchises and their wonderful histories, the story for this series will be about each team’s present day 5-on-5 play. Neither team possesses a power play worth envying and neither team is top-heavy in the skill department ala the Penguins or the Capitals (RIP). This series will likely see complete team efforts on both sides of the ice.
Offense:
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BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS
The Rangers and the Bruins are set to do battle in the Eastern Conference Semis, and this series is expected to be as difficult a series as the Washington series. The Rangers haven’t faced the Bruins since the very beginning of the season, so their 2-0-1 record against the Bruins this season does not reflect the deadline deals that both teams made. Coming into the playoffs, the Rangers were one of the hottest teams in the NHL, and the Bruins were playing .500 hockey. Now they both have great momentum, with the Rangers taking the final two games against the Caps and the Bruins coming back from down 4-1 in the third to dispatch the Leafs in seven.
The Bruins and Rangers are very similar teams in makeup, but they play two very different styles of hockey. The Rangers are a very aggressive team, and the Bruins are the exact opposite. Boston plays a trapping style and a passive, physical game to wear down their opponents. The only similarity between the Rangers and the Bruins is that they are both stellar defensive teams.
Forechecking
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