Photo: AP / Fred Chartrand
There is no way to slice it, this is a must win for the Rangers. Down in an 0-2 hole is bad enough, but coming back from 0-3 would be virtually impossible. The good news is there is still plenty to be optimistic about. This is a very tight series, with both games decided late. Poor roster management has plagued throughout the playoffs though, so if the coaches can get out of their own way, then the series is still winnable.
That said, we have history to say they won’t. So this needs to fall on the players, specifically the goaltender now. Henrik Lundqvist had a weak Game 2, but has been outstanding aside from that. He’s been the only consistent player up and down the lineup. Perhaps with goals on Saturday, Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan wake up. The Rangers certainly need it. The blue line isn’t going to help much.
Series Breakdown
We wrote a whole bunch of posts breaking down this matchup. Be sure to check them out:
Systems Breakdown
Forwards Breakdown
Defense Breakdown
Goaltender Breakdown
Senators Lines
Ryan Dzingel-Kyle Turris-Alex Burrows
Clarke MacCarthur-Derick Brassard–Bobby Ryan
Mike Hoffman-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Mark Stone
Viktor Stalberg-Zack Smith-Tommy Wingels
Marc Methot-Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf-Cody Cedi
Ben Harpur-Frederik Claesson
PP1: Stone-Turris-Burrows-Karlsson-Phaneuf
PP2: MacCarthur-Brassard-Ryan-Hoffman-Claesson
Craig Anderson gets the start
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey–Derek Stepan–Rick Nash
Michael Grabner–Kevin Hayes–Jesper Fast
Tanner Glass–Oscar Lindberg–JT Miller
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Brendan Smith
PP1: Zibanejad-Vesey-Kreider-Zuccarello-McDonagh
PP2: Stepan-Hayes-Nash-Miller-Skjei
Henrik Lundvist gets the start.
Crazy Prediction: Smith and Skjei actually play in the third period.
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