Don’t get seduced by Broadway lights
THEY’RE bringing the show to the Big Room on Saturday after two smash off-Broadway performances in which the Rangers impressed even themselves in recording consecutive 5-1 victories to grab a 2-0 first-round lead over the Devils.
“I am impressed. I think you have to be impressed with the way we’ve played,” Vincent Trocheck told The Post following Friday’s practice. “I don’t think anyone here is surprised, we know what we’re capable of when we’re at our best.
“But we know there’s a lot of work to be done.”
The Blueshirts have established 200-by-85 dominance from goal on out. They have simplified their game while playing within a disciplined structure. They have barely allowed the Devils breathing room while strapping on their hard hats and lacing up their work boots.
The danger that lies ahead — and there is always danger lurking in the Stanley Cup playoffs — is that the Rangers will be seduced by the Garden spotlight to deviate from their blueprint and try and put on a show. That players who have streamlined their games and have religiously chipped it in from the neutral zone will revert to their naturalborn inclination to go east-west and create one of those pretty goals off the rush the Blueshirts so enjoy.
That was one of the flaws that ultimately undermined the formidable teams of the last decade. Those Rangers so often became footloose and fancy free at home following methodical, buttoned-down performances on the road such as Games 1 and 2 at the Rock. When it happened once, they pledged it wouldn’t happen a second time. When it happened a second time, they vowed it wouldn’t happen again.
But it did. That is one of the reasons the Rangers failed to reach the promised land. These next generation contenders must guard against being overly hyped and going into dipsy-doodle mode in front of what will surely be a frenzied crowd. The last two years, it has gotten louder. The athletes must maintain control.
“For sure, I think it’s something we need to be aware of and be cautious about,” said Ryan Lindgren, one of the least likely candidates to alter his approach. “Obviously we’re going to be jacked up, but I don’t see us suddenly opening it up and going all east-west.
“We know we need to approach this the same way as the first two games. We want to get the puck in behind them and get on the forecheck. We’ve done a very good job so far in avoiding careless mistakes with the puck and maintaining our discipline.
“That’s the key to our success.” The Devils will be unencumbered by expectations when they hit the ice on Saturday. They can afford to take risks when the Rangers should not. The team from across the Hudson needs to change the equation, needs to shake things up a bit. The home team needs to maintain the course.
“I don’t think we have to worry about that after we’ve seen the way the first two games went by playing a simplified, structured game,” Trocheck said. “I know the fans will be excited, but the most exciting thing we can do for them is win.
“Winning is what gets people excited.”
The power play is operating at peak efficiency, 4-for-10 with four Chris Kreider redirections finding the back of the net. The first unit is humming and has been since Patrick Kane moved from an unfamiliar spot below the goal line to his customary spot on the right half-wall. The puck is moving and so are the players. Look, there’s Mika Zibanejad in the middle; no, wait, there’s No. 93 in his left circle office. Oh, by the way, Vlad Tarasenko will be coming on the second unit.
The Rangers are imposing in this four-line rotation that has been employed by Gerard Gallant, a head coach who loves to ride his horses but has managed ice time for his 12 forwards as expertly as his team has managed the puck.
In Game 1, forwards’ ice time ranged between Jimmy Vesey’s 9:48 and Kreider’s 19:40, and it’s unfortunate you can’t have an ice time of 19:94, isn’t it? In Game 2, the times up front ranged between Vesey’s 8:35 and Kreider’s 19:52. Shifts have been kept short. Discipline has applied across the board.
More is needed for this one. The Rangers have no laurels on which to rest. They have won two games. They still need two more. By the way? This marks the seventh time in franchise history that the Blueshirts have won the first two games of a best-of-seven on the road. In four of the first six, they have lost Game 3 at home. Maybe because they were trying to entertain.
“I know from last year how loud it gets when there’s a blocked shot or a save by Igor [Shesterkin] or whatever it might be,” said Zibanejad, likely the club’s best player through the opening two games. “I think [the fans] are going to be happy with a win.
“Winning is the most important thing.”
The curtain goes up sometime after 8 p.m.