If you’re one of those Ranger fans who thinks the team can get too fancy on offense, swiping past what might be a solid shot on net in search of the next “wow” pass, Gerard Gallant sort of agrees, at least in terms of Saturday night’s overtime loss to the Devils in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“We weren’t as smooth, as crisp – I thought we passed up some scoring chances, especially the first half of the game, trying to make passes,” the Rangers coach said after Game 3 of the First Round Series. He added, “We tried to get a little cute…If those would’ve been put in the back of the net, I wouldn’t be saying what I’m saying now.”
Gallant seemed to want the Rangers to be “more direct” on offense and wondered if that would’ve made it a more difficult night for Akira Schmid, the 22-year-old goalie who started in place of Vitek Vanecek as the desperate Devils tried to rally after losing the first two games of the series in Newark.
Was that the reason the Rangers lost a game that tilted the series from runaway back toward tight battle between neighbors? Maybe, at least if you believe too many passes is why a power play unit that had been so effective in the first two games was 0-for-5. Schmid, who showed remarkable poise while stopping 35-of-36 shots, was a pretty big reason, too.
Still, while Gallant noted that the Rangers’ execution on the power play “wasn’t as good in the game as it was the other two nights and that was the biggest difference,” he also repeated several times that he thought his team “overall played a really good game.”
And that’s not just lip service, either. Saturday really was a tight game, a night that encapsulated how thin the margin of victory can be in the hyped-up atmosphere of the NHL playoffs.
Here’s how close it was: Devils coach Lindy Ruff praised Igor Shesterkin for his positioning on the game-winning goal by Dougie Hamilton at the 11:36 mark of overtime, saying, “It was a matter of an inch that it gets by his glove. Perfect shot by Dougie.”
Later, Ruff said, “They didn’t give us much. There wasn’t much out there.”
Chris Kreider (who else?) scored for the Rangers, giving him five goals in the series. But they had a few other chances, too – Mika Zibanejad twice in the slot, Artemi Panarin on a breakaway gone awry, for instance. But the Devils weren’t as jittery as they were in Game 1 and they had made some tweaks on defense, Ruff said, particularly on the penalty kill. He said they “made it tough for them on entries.
“We frustrated them.”
“This was going to be a tough game, a tough series,” Zibanejad said. “Not happy with a loss, but get some rest and get ready.”
The Devils told Schmid he was starting Friday night after their team dinner. Hamilton praised the young Swiss netminder for being “so steady and so calm. For him to come into Madison Square Garden, his first playoff game and play like that, is pretty impressive.”
Schmid said he treated it like “any other game. That’s how I’m built.” But, he allowed, he was nervous. “Yes, very,” he said. “It got better once I stepped on the ice.”
Imagine how he’s feeling after helping the Devils turn this back into a series? Ruff would not commit Schmid starting Game 4 Monday night – gamesmanship, anyone? – though it seems likely he’ll be back after giving the Devils this boost.
All season, Ruff noted, the Devils have responded: “When we’ve been challenged this year, or down, we’ve always answered the call.”
Now it’s the Rangers’ turn. Wonder if they’ll be more direct on Monday?
