Video: Duguay Looks Ahead to Game 5 w/ Boomer & Carton
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TheNYRBlog Reader Goes From Smiles to Tears
TheNYRBlog reader Vinny L. sends me this pic of him and buddy in their seats at MSG before Game 4 Wednesday night. Assuming the post game pic wasn't as jovial...
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As always please continue to e-mail ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) your Rangers related pictures to me so I can post them.
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Four Things Rangers Must Do to Win Series
Dave Lozo at NHL.com takes a look at the four things the Rangers must do to win this series...
1. Henrik Lundqvist must be the better goalie -- Entering the series, the one area where the eighth-seeded Rangers appeared to have the edge was goaltending. But rookie Michal Neuvirth has put up the better numbers, going 3-1 with a 1.45 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. Lundqvist hasn't been bad -- far from it, with a 2.08 GAA and .922 save percentage -- but he'll need to find a way to be better than his counterpart over the final three games.
2. The power play must wake up -- Some of the credit has to go to the Capitals' aggressive penalty-killing unit, but the Rangers are 1-for-18 in the series and 2-for-45 in their last 13 games with the man-advantage. Shots aren't getting through and quality chances have been scarce. But just before this drought, the Rangers were in the midst of their best stretch of the season, scoring nine times in 24 chances. Marian Gaborik had his best game in weeks Wednesday and nearly won it on the power play in the second overtime. Taking advantage of Capitals' penalties is a must.
3. Resiliency -- All season, the Rangers prided themselves on rising to the occasion when adversity reared its ugly head. They overcame injuries to nearly every key player and came up with a win in their final game to get into the playoffs. Trailing 2-0 in this series, they won Game 3 after having a goal waved off at the end of the second period that would have given them a lead. After blowing a three-goal lead Wednesday, that moxie will be put to the test in an elimination game at Verizon Center.
4. Gaborik finds himself -- His goal in Game 3 was his first since March 20 and he looked more like the player who scored 42 goals last season. He skated well and showed confidence that at times has been lacking this season. Perhaps the mixture of confidence and his feeling of responsibility for the mix-up that led to Chimera's winning goal will lead to a breakout final three games of the series. If Gaborik is at his best, the Rangers will have a chance.
...the one item here that gives me the most hope that the Rangers can make a comeback is resiliency. The team has fought back with theiir proverbial backs against the wall all season and being down 3-1 right now their back couldn't be any tighter against that wall.
...a couple of power play goals wouldn't hurt either.
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1. Henrik Lundqvist must be the better goalie -- Entering the series, the one area where the eighth-seeded Rangers appeared to have the edge was goaltending. But rookie Michal Neuvirth has put up the better numbers, going 3-1 with a 1.45 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. Lundqvist hasn't been bad -- far from it, with a 2.08 GAA and .922 save percentage -- but he'll need to find a way to be better than his counterpart over the final three games.
2. The power play must wake up -- Some of the credit has to go to the Capitals' aggressive penalty-killing unit, but the Rangers are 1-for-18 in the series and 2-for-45 in their last 13 games with the man-advantage. Shots aren't getting through and quality chances have been scarce. But just before this drought, the Rangers were in the midst of their best stretch of the season, scoring nine times in 24 chances. Marian Gaborik had his best game in weeks Wednesday and nearly won it on the power play in the second overtime. Taking advantage of Capitals' penalties is a must.
3. Resiliency -- All season, the Rangers prided themselves on rising to the occasion when adversity reared its ugly head. They overcame injuries to nearly every key player and came up with a win in their final game to get into the playoffs. Trailing 2-0 in this series, they won Game 3 after having a goal waved off at the end of the second period that would have given them a lead. After blowing a three-goal lead Wednesday, that moxie will be put to the test in an elimination game at Verizon Center.
4. Gaborik finds himself -- His goal in Game 3 was his first since March 20 and he looked more like the player who scored 42 goals last season. He skated well and showed confidence that at times has been lacking this season. Perhaps the mixture of confidence and his feeling of responsibility for the mix-up that led to Chimera's winning goal will lead to a breakout final three games of the series. If Gaborik is at his best, the Rangers will have a chance.
...the one item here that gives me the most hope that the Rangers can make a comeback is resiliency. The team has fought back with theiir proverbial backs against the wall all season and being down 3-1 right now their back couldn't be any tighter against that wall.
...a couple of power play goals wouldn't hurt either.
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Friday (4/22/11) Headlines
New York Post - Rangers doomed by lack of game-breaker
New York Post - Coach says Rangers will 'bounce back'
New York Post - Choke Curse hard to swallow for Capitals coach
Daily News - Down 3-1, Rangers are believers
Daily News - Tortorella makes guarantee, sort of
New York Times - In the Postseason, Blunders Are Burned Into Memory
Wall Street Journal - Rangers Wait for Stepan to Step Up
Wall Street Journal - Rangers Still Reeling After Overtime Loss
Newsday
- Down 3-1, Rangers still confident
- Staple: Rangers need to figure out power play
- Gaborik's good night turned out bad
- Tortorella's guarantee: 'We'll be ready'
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New York Post - Coach says Rangers will 'bounce back'
New York Post - Choke Curse hard to swallow for Capitals coach
Daily News - Down 3-1, Rangers are believers
Daily News - Tortorella makes guarantee, sort of
New York Times - In the Postseason, Blunders Are Burned Into Memory
Wall Street Journal - Rangers Wait for Stepan to Step Up
Wall Street Journal - Rangers Still Reeling After Overtime Loss
Newsday
- Down 3-1, Rangers still confident
- Staple: Rangers need to figure out power play
- Gaborik's good night turned out bad
- Tortorella's guarantee: 'We'll be ready'
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Rangers Moving On from Collapse
Here are some quotes coming from practice today (via @thenyrangers)...
Marc Staal:
"I didn't feel much better this morning than I did last night, but you just learn from it today..."
Brandon Dubinsky:
"I don't think this group has lost any of its confidence---in fact I know it hasn't"
Marian Gaborik:
"that game is over...we have to stay positive and confident...we know we can beat them"
John Tortorella:
"We know what's at stake & I know we will be ready to play (Saturday)..we've bounced back all year, I don't expect anything else now"
...this team has been resilient all year so there is no reason to think they can't go into Washington on Saturday afternoon and force a Game 6 at the Garden on Monday. Remember the fourth win in a playoff series is always the hardest to get.
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Marc Staal:
"I didn't feel much better this morning than I did last night, but you just learn from it today..."
Brandon Dubinsky:
"I don't think this group has lost any of its confidence---in fact I know it hasn't"
Marian Gaborik:
"that game is over...we have to stay positive and confident...we know we can beat them"
John Tortorella:
"We know what's at stake & I know we will be ready to play (Saturday)..we've bounced back all year, I don't expect anything else now"
...this team has been resilient all year so there is no reason to think they can't go into Washington on Saturday afternoon and force a Game 6 at the Garden on Monday. Remember the fourth win in a playoff series is always the hardest to get.
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Gabby: I Should Have Seen Hank
Dave Lozo at NHL.com has this explanation from Marian Gaborik on what went wrong on Jason Chimera's game winner..."I should've seen Hank earlier," Gaborik told NHL.com. "I saw the puck. I don't know if it was a rebound or something, but I saw it in front and just tried to clear it. I didn't see Hank went for it and when I just cleared it, I saw him at the last second. I tried to clear it, but I didn't see Chimera. I guess it hit him in the stomach because he was right there.
"I don't know. I should've just...I wish I would've seen Hank quicker and go for it."
...ummm, yes you should have seen him. As I said last night, while Gaborik did technically lose the game there were much bigger factors contributing to the lose including the power play, sitting back in the third period and the McD giveaway that gave the Caps the life they needed.
...with most fans already frustrated with Gaborik's lack fo production this season that was pretty much the last thing he needed. Lots of Gabby haters today.
...would love to hear your thoughts on this but unfortunately the comments section is down today. Grrrrrrrrrr. Nothing going right.
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Boudreau: I Might Have Made A Mistake
Andrew Gross at the Bergen Record has this quote from Bruce Boudreau on his comments regarding MSG and the Rangers crowd..."Listen, I might have made a mistake by saying what I said," Boudreau said. "Let's leave it at that. Let's let the players decide this and not worry about how I felt or what the crowd felt like."
...saw way too many people saying Boudreau's plan to take the pressure off his players worked. If the Caps would have come out and steamrolled the Rangers I might agree, but they were down 3-0! And I really don't think McDonagh gave the puck away because of Boudreau's statement. That play more than any statements or chants led to the Caps comeback.
Jason Chimera, who scored the game winner, added this about last night's crowd...
"We were laughing quite a bit on the bench when they were saying 'Shut up Bruce!' before the puck dropped," Chimera said. "They were pretty funny. And then 'Can you hear us?' was pretty good. They're pretty passionate people and it's fun to play in front of them."
...pretty good? It was awesome.
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Players React to Game 4 Loss to Caps
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"Can You Here Us?!" Was Still An Amazing Moment
I know they lost, but the "Can you hear us?!" chant was an amazing moment last night. First I want to thank TheNYRBlog readers James W. of Blueline Station and Shaun T. for coming up with the chant. Second a huge thanks to everyone who chanted it at the Garden last night or passed the word along. Who knew it would come off that well?:
Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy has more on the chant here.
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