O’Rourke and Pollock are coming off Game 1 of Red Wings/Blackhawks, a game Chicago won 4-1. Calls were right down the middle, with each team picking up five minor penalties in the game. Four of those penalties were a pair of matching minors each to Jusitn Abdelkader and Dave Bolland as they got masty midway through the game.

Patrice Bergeron has one power play goal this postseason (Michael Ivins-USA TODAY Sports)

Dan O’Rourke #9

O’Rourke, a Calgary native, has refereed 597 NHL games, including the past two Stanley Cup Finals. He’s averaged 8.2 minors per game in the regular season, dropping to 7.1 in the seven playoff games he’s officiated this year. Of course, his number would be even lower if not for the 15-minutes he doled out to the Senators’ Eric Gryba after his infamous hit on Montreal’s Lars Eller in Game 1 of their first-round matchup.

The Rangers are 4-0 in games officiated by O’Rourke this year, including regular season and playoff games. He worked the Rangers’ 4-3 win at home and their 5-0 Game 7 series-clinching win in Washington. The Bruins have fared a bit worse, posting a 1-4 record in O-Rourke-officiated games, including two playoff losses to the Leafs.

While the Rangers seem to have done well under O’Rourke’s occasionally-watchful eye, some are less appreciative of his efforts. His reputation for non-calls tends to frustrate fans, but he does seem to call games evenly – even if he may show a slight bit of home bias. In seven playoff games, he’s called 22 penalties for the home team and 25 for road teams (excluding game misconducts and automatic puck-over-glass penalties). Sens blogger Travis Yost is certainly not a fan:

I’m not particularly sure how he’s still working professional hockey games at this point, and his incredible inability to pin down a correct call has become a staple of his craft. I very rarely criticize officials in these post-game entries because of how prone the position is to human error, so understand that if I’m making a point about a referee, it’s likely heinous. The good thing is I’ve got track record here — that’s easily verifiable.

In addition to the non-calls, O’Rourke is also good for the occasional ‘phantom’ call. His biggest gaffe this season could have been this Blue Jackets goal that was waved off due to interference with Crawford. Note, there’s not actually any interference.

Kevin Pollock #33

Pollock is a thirteen-year veteran with 816 regular season games under his belt, along with 123 postseason appearances.  The Ontario native is a little quicker on the whistle than his counterpart. He averaged 8.8 penalties per game in the regular season. Unlike the majority of referees who make fewer calls in the playoffs, Pollock has held steady, continuing to average 8.8 penalties per game.

The Rangers are undefeated in Pollock-run games, going 2-0 in the regular season. Boston’s also had success, with a 2-1 record when Pollock’s in the stripes. Like O’Rourke, Pollock also calls a close game, with home teams penalized 21 times and road teams picking up 19 calls in the postseason. Only one of his five postseason games had a team with more than a one-penalty discrepancy.

Rangers fans may best remember Pollock for his non-call on the dangerous hit by Patrick Kaleta on Brad Richards. Brooksie sure does.

Kevin Pollock, referee 10 feet away from Kaleta/Richards, did not signal for penalty on play. NHL should convene hearing on that as well.

— Larry Brooks(@NYP_Brooksie) March 4, 2013

What Does It Mean?

This postseason the Rangers are a perfect 3-0 at home. Their penalty killers have gone 5-for-5. That’s right, they’ve only had to kill of five penalties in those three home games. Overall, they’re 17-for-21 (81.0%). Boston’s power play (4-for-25, 16%) has been effective on the road (2-for-10, 20%), so the Rangers will need to shut down any opportunities. Of course, continuing to stay out of the penalty box at MSG would be the best way to limit the Bruins’ chances. The Rangers are the second-least penalized team still in the playoffs, with only 6.8 PIM per game. Boston is the fourth-highest team left at 9.9 PIM per game.

We all know about the Rangers’ terrible power play. The good news? It’s better at home. They’ve gone 2-for-15 (13.3%) in New York. Boston’s penalty kill is slightly worse on the road, dropping from 82.8% overall to 80.0% away from the TD Garden.  Given the history of these officials – and of the playoffs in general – each team will get an equal number of chances. Expect a handful of missed calls and a possible make-up call or two. (Yes, we know they aren’t supposed to exist, but even Kerry Fraser admits they do…)

Neither team will have much of an edge in the penalty column. It will be up to their respective special teams units to convert the chances they do get. In the playoffs, the Rangers are 2-0 when they score a power play goal. Tonight, the Blueshirts need to find their way on the board. Score first, and score on the power play, and they have a shot.

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Josh Smith

Josh is a life-long hockey fan. He grew up as a fan of the New York Rangers, but thanks to their general mismanagement and years of mediocrity, developed a great appreciation for every team across the league. He’s been writing about hockey on various sites since 1995. Follow him on Twitter at @joshsmith29 or reach him via email at joshuasmithTHW@gmail.com.

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Rick Nash’s last power play point was April 18 against the Panthers. He had no power play goals this season against teams that made the playoffs. (Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)

Taking a Look at ‘Goals Per 60′

Forget power play percentage. We’re going to look at a statistic that shows the importance of special teams relative to even strength performance – goals per 60 minutes.  We’ll look at the power play goals scored compared to the amount of time spent on the power play, then see what it would look like projected over sixty minutes – basically, what would happen if the team could play an entire game on the power play.   We’ll do the same thing for even strength situations as a comparison.

At even strength in the regular season, the Rangers averaged 2.46 goals per 60 minutes (goals/60).  On the power play, they were much higher, as expected, averaging 5.53 goals/60.   That sounds about right.  New York scored about twice as often on the power play as they did at even strength, based on the same amount of time.

In the playoffs, they’ve been worse.   Much worse.

The Rangers’ power play finished off the regular season at a barely-respectable 15.7%. In the playoffs, they’re converting just 5.6% of their opportunities.  That’s not just bad, it’s horrendous.  So much so that they would, statistically speaking, be better off not going on the power play.

Rangers Playoff Goals per 60

The Rangers have spent more time on the power play than any other team this postseason, playing 64:14 with the man advantage. That tells us two things. One, they’ve drawn a lot of penalties. The other is the fact that over 94% of those penalties lasted the full two minutes, since the Blueshirts failed to cut them short by doing something crazy like actually scoring a power play goal. Over nine games, they’ve netted only two goals with the man advantage, which works out to 1.9 goals/60. That’s right, a full game on the power play would be expected to get them less than two goals.

At even strength, the Rangers have been better. They’ve averaged 2.3 goals/60 when playing five-on-five.

Yes, the Rangers score nearly half-a-goal less on the power play than at even strength when projected over 60 minutes. (Take your time. I’ll give you a minute to consider how absolutely pathetic that is.)

They even shoot better five-on-five.  Their shooting percentage at even strength is a respectable 7.8%.  Give them a power play, though, and they forget how to aim. Their shooting percentage drops to just 4.3% – not counting the innumerable times the Rangers miss the net. (I’m looking at you, Michael Del Zotto and Brian Boyle.)

Brian Boyle leads the Rangers with 14 missed shots. With only 12 shots on goal this postseason, Boyle is one of the few players who’ve missed more shots than they’ve made on goal. (Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE)

Bruins Playoff Goals per 60

In the postseason, the Bruins are much more in line with what you’d expect from this stat. At even strength, they’re averaging 3.1 goals/60.  That jumps to 5.6 goals/60 on the power play, nearly double their five-on-five performance.   That’s consistent with the kind of improvement we saw from the Rangers in the regular season, when their efforts were much less embarrassing.

The Bruins have one shorthanded goal in the playoffs.  Given the time they’ve spent shorthanded, they’d score 1.2 goals if they played the entire game down a man.  Based on how inept the Rangers’ power play is, if the two teams played a game with the Rangers on the power play for the entire 60 minutes, it projects to a final score of 1.9 to 1.2.  Even if we round those numbers, that means an entire-game-long power play for the Rangers would still result in them squeaking by with a one goal win.  It’d probably take overtime.  Depressing, right?

Mats Zuccarello’s 2 assists have him tied for the team lead in power play points. Two assists. That’s it. (Icon SMI)

What Can The Rangers Do?

Tortorella has a plan.  He always has a plan. (If you don’t believe me, ask him.  I’ll kindly leave the room while you do so.)  What are his options to address the team’s deplorably bad power play?

Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski boiled it down to addressing the efforts of a few key players, namely Hagelin, Nash, Richards, and Gaborik (or the lack thereof).

The boys from Blueshirt Banter agreed, calling for some fresh blood on the power play. With the way Pyatt and Dorsett have been battling on the boards, why not?  And whatever happened to John Moore, who saw only 10:21 of ice – none on the power play – in Sunday’s 5-2 loss?

Over at NYR Full Tilt, they’re also demanding a complete overhaul of the lines, looking for Boyle and Hagelin – even though he stinks - to get more power play time, and to have Zuccarello and Moore quarterback the power play units.  (That would leave Brad Richards as this year’s Stu Bickel, riding the pine as he’s done so often. The “star” center’s ice time dropped from over 18 minutes in the regular season down to 15 against the Capitals and now averaging just 10:53 per game against the Bruins.)

Those personel moves are worth a shot, right?   Maybe.  Or maybe not.   Maybe the Rangers need to look at their outright failure with the man advantage and leverage it in a completely different way.

The Rangers Need To Take More Penalties

Hey, Blueshirts, are you listening?  Here’s the new plan.  From now on, forget about drawing the penalty.  Power plays are of no use to you.  Use this inadequacy to your advantage.  Instead of a two-minute power play, consider it a free shot on your opponent.   Lucic hooked you down?  Good, now turn around and give him a two-hand slash so you can both go to the box.  Get cross-checked in the crease?  Return the favor and interfere with Rask. Maybe you score on the delayed call.  If not, it’s not like you were going to score on the power play anyway. You may as well get in his head and keep it chippy.

At this point, the Blueshirts need to find some way to make the power play work to their advantage.  Perhaps the best way to do that is to avoid any manpower advantage at all.  Instead, get physical and get nasty. If you can’t deliver a goal or some offensive output, you need to find a way to deliver something. Carte blanche to rough things up a little might just be an option.

Just don’t put yourselves down a man. The Bruins have actually figured out this whole ‘power play goal’ thing…

Follow Josh on Twitter – @joshsmith29

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Josh Smith

Josh is a life-long hockey fan. He grew up as a fan of the New York Rangers, but thanks to their general mismanagement and years of mediocrity, developed a great appreciation for every team across the league. He’s been writing about hockey on various sites since 1995. Follow him on Twitter at @joshsmith29 or reach him via email at joshuasmithTHW@gmail.com.

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The Boston Bruins are developing a good bad habit. The past three playoff wins for Boston have come in overtime, most recently a 3-2 win in Game 1 over the New York Rangers. They’re learning how to win games when they matter most, even if extra hockey is required. With a next goal wins mentality, the Bruins are showing that they can play their best hockey when their backs are against the wall. Closing out a game with a win in 60 minutes hasn’t happened since Game 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but there’s no denying the momentum that’s on the Bruins side right now.

(Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)

On Thursday night, fans were treated to 60+ minutes of hockey between two teams days removed from a grueling seven-game series in the first round of the 2013 NHL postseason. For the first 40 minutes of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, it was pretty obvious that both the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers were feeling the effects of their Game 7s played on Monday night. It was sloppy hockey from two tired teams in a game that seemed to be headed for irrelevancy, surely not to be remembered in playoff folklore for it’s thrilling moments and edge-of-your seat exciting.

Things changed in the third period, but hey, that’s nothing new–especially for the Bruins.

Credit the Rangers for coming out on fire to start the third period. It only took 14 seconds for Derek Stepan to break the tie and put the Rangers on top 2-1 early in the third period. Capitalizing on the same momentum they used to close out the second period, when Ryan McDonagh ripped a snap shot from the point past Tuukka Rask to put New York on the score sheet with less than two seconds remaining, the Rangers kept pushing.

The Bruins pushed back.

It started with a power play goal from Torey Krug, the recent Providence call-up to the injury-depleted Boston blue line, that tied the game for the Bruins. Krug fired a shot from the point after a heads-up hockey pass from counterpart Dougie Hamilton sailed across the top of the offensive zone.

“I’ve said before that my main goal is to come in here and try to help the team win,” said Krug after the game. “I was fortunate enough to do that.”

In overtime, it was all Bruins. At one point after the Bruins’ power play in extra time, it became evident that the Bruins were going to pull through and win the game. Maybe it had to do with the 16-5 shot advantage the Bruins had, or the immense amount of pressure they were putting on Henrik Lundqvist. Eventually, you just knew that the Bruins would break open the game for the win.

It made perfect sense that the cast of characters responsible for the game-winning goal were the most important Bruins’ on the ice during Game 1. Zdeno Chara, after notching the first goal of the game and already logging an insane 38 minutes of ice-time, poked an errant pass away from Derick Brassard in the Bruins zone, leading to a two-on-one where Patrice Bergeron fed a perfect pass onto the stick of Brad Marchand for the goal.

It was poetic that the hero from Game 7 passed the clutch crown to Marchand, who had already played his best game of the postseason, to become the hero in Game 1.

“It’s kind of a blur,” said Marchand after the game. “From the second it goes in to see everybody jump on the ice and surround you, it’s a bit of a blur. Obviously, a huge adrenaline rush and very exciting.”

The Bruins know how to play when it matters most and have shown that they can deliver positive results when tested. While consistency always remain a question, it’s easy to understand that this team is playing with as much heart and determination as they have all season.

Follow Mike on Twitter for more Bruins updates, news and commentary

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Mike Miccoli

Mike Miccoli has covered the Boston Bruins for three years with TheHockeyWriters.com and is a credentialed member of the media for all Bruins' home games. As a former player, coach and official, Miccoli has been around the game of hockey since the age of three. Along with his work on THW, Miccoli has also been published in the New England Hockey Journal, Improper Bostonian magazine and on BostInnovation.com. You can follow him at twitter.com/mikemiccoli.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals matchup between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins will be officiated by Chris Rooney and Brad Meier. Tonight marks the first time this duo has worked together for a playoff game this season.

Chris Rooney (#5)

Rooney came into the league in 2000.  A Boston native, he has donned the stripes for 710 regular season games including the 2010 Winter Classic. He has officiated 35 playoff games, including last season’s Stanley Cup Finals.

Rangers captain Ryan Callahan leads all players in this series with six power play goals in the regular season. Will he tally his first power play goal of the playoffs?  (Rich Kane/Icon SMI)

Rooney has worked six games in the postseason, including two for Rangers/Capitals and once for Bruins/Maple Leafs. In those games – a game 1 loss to the Caps and the game 7 series clincher –  the Rangers went 1-1 (average of 8.0 minor penalties per game).  The Bruins defeated Toronto 5-2 in Rooney’s only game of that series, Game 3 in Toronto, calling 12 minor penalties in the game.

In the regular season, the Rangers went 3-0 in games officiated by Rooney, including a 4-3 overtime win against Boston.  The Bruins, for whatever reason, struggled in Rooney-refereed games, going 0-4 in the regular season.

One of those Rangers’ wins came in the game that formally eliminated the Devils from playoff contention. Rooney’s presence was a factor in that game, according to David Garrison over at Pucks and Pitchforks:

The referee that made all of the bad calls was Chris Rooney. Rooney is notorious for favoring teams and blowing games. He also has many websites with all of the bad calls he makes, just search his name. I never like to blame refs, they are an easy scapegoat for the team losing, but this time it got in the heads of the Devils and they could not play the game to their best ability.

Rooney called an average of 7.5 minor penalties per game in the regular season and 9.3 in the playoffs, a number likely inflated by his officiating partner. He opened the first round paired with the less-tenured Steve Kozari.  The two racked up some mileage on their whistles, averaging 12 minor penalties called per game over their first four games.  Since then, Rooney has shared the ice with some more experienced referees, namely his partner for last year’s Cup Finals Dan O’Rourke and veteran Wes McCauley.  In those two games, calls dropped to an average of just four per game.

Brad Meier (#34)

Like Rooney, Meier is a veteran zebra, having joined the league in 1999.  He has 810 regular season games under his belt, along with 32 playoff games. He’s officiated five games this postseason, including one overtime game in each series that led to this matchup.   He officiated the Rangers’ Game 5 overtime loss to the Capitals as well as the Bruins’ Game 6 overtime loss in Toronto.  Both we called tight, with penalties split closely down the middle.

Chara was sixth in the league in shorthanded time on ice, averaging 3:12 per game in the regular season (Andy Martin Jr)

In five postseason games, Meier is averaging 6.2 calls per game.  This is down from his regular season average of 7.5 penalties per game.  In the regular season, the Bruins went 1-2 and the Rangers were 1-3 in games officiated in part by Meier.

We can only hope Meier doesn’t remember the comments John Tortorella made back in 2002 when he was behind the bench in Tampa.  After a late penalty resulted in a game-tying power play goal, Torts said of Meier, as reported in the St. Petersburg Times, “He’s a bad referee, plain and simple. He has got no feel for the game.  It’s not the reason we lose the game, but to me it’s an awful call. He’s a terrible referee.”

I’m not sure about you, but I’m going to guess that Brad Meier hasn’t forgotton about this exchange.  Let’s hope he’s professional enough to not let it show in his officiating.  But if there’s that one critical call at one key point that just might decide a game…?  Nevermind. I’ll leave the referee conspiracy theories to someone with a little more time on his hands.

What Does It Mean?

Tonight’s game will be managed by two veteran officials who have been here before.  While some games in the first round had lots of power play opportunities – thanks in part to younger officials a bit more whistle-happy – expect these two to let them play.   Aside from the obvious calls that result in loss of scoring chances or the unavoidable puck-over-glass penalties, Rooney and Meier will likely have their whistles in their pockets.   If things start to get rough, watch for matching minors to both sides to try to retain order, a technique both have used in this year’s playoffs.

Look, neither team is particularly powerful on their respective power play.  The Rangers went 2-for-28 (7.1%) in the first round, while Boston netted only one more goal with the man advantage, going 3-for-20 (15.0%). New York has taken the second fewest penalties in the postseason (6.0 PIM-per-game) and was the least-penalized team in the regular season (9.2 PIM-per-game).  Boston’s been a bit less disciplined, picking up 9.1 PIM-per-game in the playoffs and 12.2 PIM-per-game in the regular season, both around the middle of the pack.  All those factors point to the fact that special teams will not play as large a part in this series as they did for the Rangers against the Capitals.  A timely power play goal could tip the scales in an otherwise close game, but that’s not what this matchup is about.

This is a series that will be played out – and won – based on even strength play.  That’s something that Rooney and Meier are likely to ensure plenty of in tonight’s game…  along with maybe even a voice-crack or two:

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Josh Smith

Josh is a life-long hockey fan. He grew up as a fan of the New York Rangers, but thanks to their general mismanagement and years of mediocrity, developed a great appreciation for every team across the league. He’s been writing about hockey on various sites since 1995. Follow him on Twitter at @joshsmith29 or reach him via email at joshuasmithTHW@gmail.com.

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The Rangers celebrate their 5-0 game 7 win over the Washington Capitals (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

It was a frightening first round series for New York Ranger fans.

Down 2-0 to start the series, and down 3-2 after a game five OT loss, the Rangers found themselves staring elimination in the face before shutting the Washington Capitals out in back to back games to take the series in seven. It was impressive display of goaltending and defense from the Rangers — those two facets were impressive the entire series, really, even with the rocky start. Over seven games, the Rangers surrendered just 12 goals to the third highest scoring team in the Eastern conference, holding Hart candidate Alex Ovechkin to a mere two points (on goal, one assist) and his center Nicklas Backstrom to a mere three points (one goal, two assists). To be fair to Washington, they managed to hold the Rangers’ dynamic duo of Derek Stepan and Rick Nash to four points between them (two goals for Stepan, two assists for Nash), but the former both finished higher in regular season scoring than the Rangers’ duo.

Unlike the Capitals, however, the Rangers were able to get huge offensive contributions from their second line center, Derick Brassard — he had an excellent first round, finishing with an impressive stat-line of two goals and seven assists for nine points over the course of the seven game series. That is twice the amount of points that any Capitals’ skater managed to produce. The only player on the Rangers that finished even close to Brassard in scoring was his line-mate Mats Zuccarello — he also had a very good series, finishing with one goal and four assists.

Even with Brassard producing those numbers, he was not the player who stole the show — no, that title belongs to Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who ended the series with back to back shutouts. A 1-0 win in game six, and a 5-0 win in game seven. He shut the door and was the Rangers backbone once again. Holtby, on the other hand, had a meltdown in game seven after providing steady goaltending in games one thru six.

I also have to give massive credit to the Rangers’ defense, who really stepped it up in the final two games as well — they, along with Lundqvist, kept the Capitals’ big name players off the scoresheet. Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, and Anton Stralman were particularly exceptional.

The 5-0 win was definitely unexpected — and a relief for Rangers fans. Prior to this, the previous five games had all been decided by one goal. Another interesting stat — before this game, the Rangers were 1-10 in their last 11 playoff games at the Verizon center, scoring a total of 10 goals. That’s what makes the win even more unbelievable for Ranger fans. It was a great series — props to Washington for a hard-fought battle.

The Second Round Opponent

The Bruins celebrate their miraculous game seven comeback. (Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)

The Bruins, on the other hand, had a far more dramatic game seven experience — down 4-1 to Toronto with about 11 minutes to go, the Bruins somehow managed to tie the game late. Horton scored to make it 4-2 midway through the third, and then Lucic and Bergeron scored goals 31 seconds apart to tie the game at four. It didn’t take long for the Bruins to cap their comeback with the OT winner when Bergeron scored his second of the game to send Boston to the second round.

On Thursday, these two original six teams will face off in their first playoff series since 1973 — yes, 1973, when the Bruins were still led by this guy named Bobby Orr, and the Rangers were still led by the GAG-line (a line of consisting of Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle, and Ranger legend Rod Gilbert). The year prior, 1972, the Bruins defeated the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Since ’73, these two teams have not met a single time in the postseason. That is pretty incredible for two teams that have quite a history between them.

The Upcoming Series

This series will be an interesting one considering that both of these teams play a very similar style — they are physical, they are great defensively, they are deep at forward, and they have two great goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist has been stellar against the Bruins, going 21-7-2 in his regular season matches versus Boston. Tuuka Rask is one the most promising goaltenders in the league — in fact, scratch promising, he is already one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, period.

Some might think of this series as “boring”, but I like to think that this series will be an all-out war. Space will be hard to come by, hits will be thrown on every dump in, and the goaltending will be top-notch. Realistically, this will probably end up another seven game series for the Rangers. These two teams appear to be about as even as they can possibly be.

The x-factor in this series will be the offense. Rick Nash must produce better numbers. He looked to be laboring in the first round, but it’s the playoffs — even Marian Gaborik managed to produce decent numbers while playing with a torn labrum. To be fair to Nash, though, he had two very good games in game six and seven and registered an assist in the latter. His skating looked a lot better and he seemed stronger on the puck. For the Bruins, Tyler Seguin (one assist in seven games) and Brad Marchand (three assists in seven games) have to step it offensively. The Bruins will not get by the Rangers if they are a one-line team — looked at what they did to Washington.

That said, I think that the Rangers have a slight edge — in both goaltending and defense. The Bruins, for one, do not currently have a healthy defense. Both Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference are questionable for game one. No one but Pete Chiarelli and the Bruins organization knows the extent of these injuries, though, so they could, hypothetically speaking, miss the entire series. It has been reported that Andrew Ference is on crutches and in a walking boot, so it doesn’t sound promising right now for Boston.

The Rangers would like to get Marc Staal and Ryane Clowe back in the lineup themselves, the latter particularly, as he would be able to cancel out what Lucic brings. Their status for game one is unknown.

The series begins on Thursday at TD Garden. Game one will most certainly be a good one. If you’d like live play-by-play and analysis of that game, feel free to follow along on twitter (@SMartiniqueTHW). Until then, let’s go Rangers.

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Steven Martinique

I'm a diehard New York Rangers fanatic, and a hockey nerd in general. I can fascinate with my passion and dedication to the game of hockey. If you're looking for a writer who can present an insightful angle that not many would think to look at, I'm your man.

Ryane Clowe returned to the Rangers’ lineup in game four and registered an assist.

The Rough Start

When the Rangers went down 2-0 to the Capitals after a 1-0 overtime loss in game two, many questions were raised about the Rangers ability to generate offense. They had been outscored 4-1 by Washington, with Carl Hagelin registering the only goal. Ryan McDonagh and Ryan Callahan were the only two players with points, outside of Hagelin. They had been shutout in game two, and afterwards, Braden Holtby decided to take a subtle shot at the Rangers by saying “It [game 2] wasn’t a very hard game for me.“.

Brad Richards, Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Rick Nash, and Derek Stepan had all been held scoreless by the Capitals’ defense prior to game three. The Rangers powerplay was a miserable 0-for-9; that includes a lengthy 5-on-3 that the Rangers had when up 1-0 in game two that failed to score. They also failed to capitalize on a powerplay at the start of overtime in game two — on the flip side, the Capitals managed to capitalize on their first PP chance in the OT, after they forced McDonagh to take a delay-of-game penalty with a punishing shift. They also scored a PP goal in game one. Even Henrik Lundqvist had his struggles in game one, after giving two questionable goals in the span of about 45 seconds. However, he certainly made up for it in game two with a tremendous performance.

Injured Players Returning Replenishes Depth

There wasn’t much space available to the Rangers in those two games away from home — the Capitals managed to keep the Rangers to the outside, along the perimeter of the offensive zone, for the majority of game one and game two. In game three and four, however, the Rangers managed to dominate the Capitals in their own zone, and were much improved on their forecheck. They were also able to shut down the Capitals’ big name players. One of the main reasons?

Derek Dorsett made his Rangers debut in game two — he’s managed to land 11 hits in his first three games.

The Rangers were able to inject some toughness and size into their lineup. Derek Dorsett made his Rangers debut in game two after suffering a fractured orbital bone on March 7th, and Brian Boyle also played his first game since April 16th after he injured his leg against the Flyers. Brian Boyle made a huge impact in game two, scoring a goal when the Rangers were down 1-0 in the first, and assisting on Derick Brassard’s PP goal early in the second period of game three.

Dorsett hasn’t produced a point yet, but he is a bit of a loose cannon on the ice, and keeps players along the boards honest with his physical, punishing brand of hockey. For the record, it will also take time for him to get adjusted to the Rangers system, and he’s probably a little out of shape after missing all of that time with an injury — it will take him a few games to get back into a groove.

The Rangers ended up winning game three by a score of 4-3 — the winning goal came late in the third period when Rick Nash made a slick pass to Derek Stepan, who tipped the puck through Holtby’s five-hole to give the Rangers a one goal lead. Also of note, tough guy Arron Asham managed to score a goal in game three early in the third period. Marc Staal also played a shade over 17 minutes in game three, but decided to sit game four out. Why he sat out has not been disclosed.

After game three, Alex Ovechkin commented on the Rangers’ toughness, or “lack thereof”:

“Well, McDonagh is a good skater, but they don’t play much of a physical game,” Ovechkin said. “So it’s kind of nice to know when you go to the corners, they’re not going to hit you. They play too (many) minutes, and if they’re going to make one or two hits, their energy leveling (will be) going down …”

Ryane Clowe returned for game four and made a significant impact early on. Early in the game, he had a chat with Steve Oleksy, who had been running around a bit in games one and two. After that little chat, Oleksy was fairly unnoticeable for the rest of the game. Clowe also made an excellent play on Carl Hagelin’s goal, earning an assist. He played important minutes late in the game and he had definitely earned him. The return of Clowe is a big factor for the Rangers. He is a proven playoff performer, and the toughness factor that he adds is invaluable. Also, going back to Ovechkin comments, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh really responded to those comments from Ovechkin. The Rangers were physical with Ovechkin, and in the end, he mailed it in — check out his “effort” on the game-winning goal.

The Rangers Are Now Healthy, But The Caps Are Banged Up

We’ll truly see how effective these three players are for the Rangers in game five at the Verizon Center, an arena that has not been kind to the Rangers as of late. They have one playoff win in Washington in their last nine games there, averaging a goal per game. The Rangers were fairly beat up in game one in two — now, the Rangers are fully healthy up front, and Staal hasn’t been ruled out for game five. He could potentially play, which would be a big boost after the poor outing that Eminger had in game four. On the other hand, John Erksine, while playing, is playing injured (he left for a portion of game three after he was nailed by Ryan Callahan early on — he has been a bit shaky since that hit, although he has been able to play), and Martin Erat has been ruled out for game five after an awkward collision with Derek Stepan and Alex Ovechkin.

Hopefully, that is enough to provide a spark to the Rangers — stealing this game on the road would be monumental, as they would have a chance to close it out at Madison Square Garden. Home has been kind to the Rangers as of late, they are currently riding a eight game home winning streak and have produced a number of goals over that span. A chance to close out the series at home might just be enough to push the Rangers to round two. Henrik Lundqvist will need to be on his game, and the forecheck must be as effective and aggressive as it was in games one and two, or else the Rangers playoff hopes may hang in the balance.

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Steven Martinique

I'm a diehard New York Rangers fanatic, and a hockey nerd in general. I can fascinate with my passion and dedication to the game of hockey. If you're looking for a writer who can present an insightful angle that not many would think to look at, I'm your man.