New York Rangers looking for much better effort against Devils in Game 4
The New York Rangers tasted their first bit of adversity in a 2-1 overtime loss the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
With the series at 2-1 in favor of the Blueshirts, they will need to find a way to make life more difficult for young goalie Akira Schmid, who stopped 35 of 36 shots to get the Devils back into the series.
“I don’t think we did a good job of getting to the inside as we have the last few games,” Chris Kreider said. “As the game went on, we got better but the goalie was still seeing the puck.”
Here’s tonight’s game and broadcast info:
New York Rangers (2-1) vs New Jersey Devils (1-2)
Date/Time: April 24, 2023 at 7:00 PM ET
Arena: Madison Square Garden
TV: MSG
Radio: ESPN 98.7
How to watch the New York Rangers
New York Rangers seek pushback
The biggest issue for the Rangers in Game 3 was an 0 for 5 night on the power play, after scoring 4 in 10 chances in the previous two contests.
Aside from a more aggressive Devils penalty kill, the Rangers got away from what made them successful earlier in the series. Instead of getting purposeful shots to the net for deflections and rebounds, they reverted back to east-west passing resulting in a dud.
“We came a little bit too slow,” Mika Zibanejad admitted. “The first two games we were getting more pucks to the net and we just have go back to that.”
Head coach Gerard Gallant opted to give his team a full day off on Sunday in order to recoup and attack today fresh.
“When the game was over it was close to 1 AM,” he noted. “What are you going to do by coming in [on Sunday]. Everybody will come to the morning skate [on Monday] and we can do our meetings.”
The extra rest may help Artemi Panarin, who has yet to register a goal in the playoffs. Through three games, the Blueshirts leading scorer for the regular-season (92 points) has just two assists.
In Game 3, Panarin had an early breakaway and shot it over the net. He had another glorious chance close later in the game but shot it wide. Both instances appeared as if he was trying to be too fine with his chances.
Regardless, Panarin has been excellent defensively and continues to be a threat on the ice. If there’s one Ranger that appears to be ready to explode in a game, it’s the Breadman.
Igor Shesterkin will be back in net for the Rangers. Last season’s Vezina winner has been a constant in all three games of the series sporting a 1.26 GAA and a .950 save percentage.
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