Time For The Blueshirts To Put A Stranglehold On This Series

The Rangers have the Penguins right where they want them. Any momentum given to Pittsburgh after Saturday’s loss at MSG was taken right back in Game 3. The banged-up Pens have done a very good job making this seem like an even series on the surface, but there have been plenty of stretches where NY has dominated play. Unfortunately that’s yet to translate to anything more than a pair of 2-0 leads they couldn’t tack onto. They’re on the brink though. Brassard & Yandle (who’s still battling a stomach bug) have been outstanding all series and look to finally be getting some help. Despite Dom Moore deservedly eating into his minutes, Hayes looked closer to his regular-season self. Zucc was everywhere but the scoresheet, leading the team in shots and hits. The team as a whole cut down their giveaways from 13 to 3. If Crosby & Co. are gonna come out of the gates slow for the 4th straight game, tonight could be when it comes all together for the Blueshirts like it did for their last regular season meeting. Four goals in 25 minutes sent Fleury to the bench & the Pittsburgh crowd home early.
I said there was no reason to overreact after dropping Game 2 & I was right. This is a matchup the Rangers have now won 8 of 10. If not for an unlucky shootout, they’d have taken the last 5 at the CONSOL. If the Penguins were to truly believe they had a shot at the upset, they needed to follow up their W by protecting their house. They couldn’t. Now it’s up to the Rangers to make sure they stomp out all hope & bring a commanding 3-1 lead back to Broadway Friday night. They’ll have to break a losing trend when skating with a series lead, but after starting last year’s run with a pair of 7-gamers the importance of doing so is obvious. Even cutting it down to 6 games gives the Rangers an extra couple of days to rest up & get Kevin Klein 100% – but I’m still backing my 5-game prediction. After a lopsided win tonight, I’ll be looking like Nostradamus.
Oh yeah – perhaps most importantly, Ron Duguay is now on Twitter. #VIVA