Thoughts before Game 6

Photo: Jim McIsaac/Newsday

We all know what happened the other night in Montreal, and we all know what we hope happens tonight at the Garden – I figured instead of a post stretching one thought out for too long I’d just hit you guys with some scattered thoughts before tomorrow’s game.

• The Rangers really need to come out and play a full 60 minutes tomorrow night. They turned it on in the latter portions of Game 5, but for a while there Hank had to bail them out. Montreal is going to be playing desperate hockey, and the Rangers are going to need to counter that with a complete effort, because even taking their foot off the gas slightly will give Montreal all the opportunity they need to set up and attempt to alter the course of the game.

• Speaking of Hank, I could really do without all of the Hank harassing that Montreal’s been doing. You know that they’d be going nuts if we did anything even vaguely similar to Price (to say the least of the bogus grudge maintained on the part of some Habs fans concerning Kreider’s alleged running of Price from, at this point, multiple years ago) and it only creates more opportunities for them to score. Rangers need to make a statement by clearing the crease and letting the Canadiens know that Lundqvist is off limits.
•  I know we’ve given AV a lot of guff on this blog and on the podcast over the past year, and I still think it’s largely earned, but he made the right decision shaking up the lines and inserting Buch while dropping Grabner to the fourth line. The Kreider/Zibanejad/Buchnevich line was instrumental in the Rangers comeback the other night (and obviously DJ ZBad scored the OT winner), and the fourth line was sensational, with Oscar Lidberg being on ice for 14 shot attempts for and 0 against. Props to AV for making the right moves and giving his team the best chance to win.
• Along similar lines of me saying things you might not expect, I think Dan Girardi has played a largely effective game this series, and especially Thursday night in Montreal. He’s been something reminiscent of his old self, and you can tell that he knows he’s going to be limited in his abilities in certain scenarios, instead opting to lean on his teammates, and especially his defensive partner Ryan McDonagh, to make the right plays. An underrated thing about Girardi this series too is that he’s been shooting more – I think he’s got a nice wrister from the blue line that’s pretty effectively tipped in front and which he knows how to get through traffic. It’s nice to see.
• Tuesday’s game and the later stages of Thursday’s demonstrated something that I’ve been saying all year: this team’s defense doesn’t need to be spectacular, only decent, for the forwards to take over and handle the rest. The depth provided by four scoring lines has, at times when the defense has been able to make simple breakout plays, proven too much for Montreal to handle, regardless as to whether or not they score on the play. That speed through the neutral zone is most effective when the defense is making short breakout passes, which for most of Tuesday and the third period/OT period of Thursday they were doing.
• Lastly, although I’ve been over the moon with Buch’s performance in these last two games, I’ve got to point out how strong Jimmy Vesey’s been playing. The Skjei goal from Thursday was a great example – he curls back twice, drawing an extra defender and showing excellent patience and hands, before making the right pass to Rick Nash, who ends up setting up the goal for Skjei. He’s been getting clean zone entries, putting moves on opposing defensemen, and helping to retain the puck in the offensive zone, all of which are crucial things to be doing against a possession heavy team like Montreal

So there you have it, my the unorganized hockey thoughts floating around in my head in advance of Game 6. Let us know what’s floating around in you head in the comments below, and as always, Let’s Go Rangers!