Chris Kreider was scratched Thursday night, but he received specific instructions from the Rangers' coaching staff: watch how rookie left wing Carl Hagelin pursues the puck.
That was terrific advice, since Hagelin's dogged forecheck led directly to two of the Blueshirts' goals in a 4-2 win over the Senators in Game 1 of their first-round series at the Garden.
Marian Gaborik scored to make it 2-0 with 3:36 remaining in the second period, breaking the game open, but it was Hagelin's hounding of Senators defenseman Jared Cowen that forced Cowen to rush a clearing attempt along the right wall, where Gaborik knocked the puck down and drove unimpeded to the net before juking Craig Anderson like he was playing in the backyard.
"For a young guy, understanding what he needs to do without the puck and chase things down is important, and that's been important for his two linemates," John Tortorella said at Friday afternoon's practice in Greenburgh. "We always talk about Richie and Gabby, but I'll tell ya, I think Hags is just as important as either one of those guys if that line is gonna work."
Then, with 17:45 remaining in the third period, Hagelin gave Kreider a textbook demonstration of what the recently signed 20-year-old winger would be expected to do if and when he suits up.
Hagelin chased Senators left wing Nick Foligno behind Ottawa's net, lifted Foligno's stick and stole the puck, then fed it in front to Brad Richards, who finished past Craig Anderson for a 4-0 lead that proved valuable considering the Senators would score twice late.
"I think they did a better job on their forecheck than we did on ours, and forcing turnovers," said Senators veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar, referring also to Rangers such as Hagelin, winger Artem Anisimov (two assists) and captain Ryan Callahan (one goal). "That's the difference. We made some mistakes in our end. We weren't as opportunistic, either. That's the difference tonight."
Hagelin, the 23-year-old Swede, did not receive an assist on Gaborik's goal even though he poked the puck just prior to Cowen's clearing attempt, but he made a huge impression in his first playoff game. Hagelin did so with the same type of hustle that has kept him in the lineup for 65 games and counting since being called up from the AHL's Connecticut Whale for a Nov. 25 game in Washington.
"I was told to watch Carl Hagelin, watch how he plays pretty closely, how he hounds pucks and the puck pursuit and the energy he brings to the game," Kreider said Thursday morning, hours before the Rangers' 4-2 win. "(The coach) have emphasized puck pursuit, not so much speed with the puck but speed without the puck, being able to bring that to my game, being able to hound pucks and harass defensemen."
MORE ON KREIDER OR, AS HE'S NOW CALLED, "KREIDS" In the morning, when Kreider arrived at his locker to be interviewed, he asked that the session be moved to an adjacent room away from the team's private area, as if he did not want to give his teammates the wrong impression by holding court the morning of a playoff game despite not having played a game in the NHL.
In other words, he seems to have a great head on his shoulders.
Kreider admitted he "wasn't the best shot-blocker" at Boston College, but said he's "definitely willing" – a good sign, since John Tortorella's mantra is: "If you don't block shots, you don't play."
Kreider also said he has just four classes remaining to graduate from BC, having taken advantage of summer courses before leaving for the NHL toward the end of this, his junior year.
I wonder if Torts is making him finish his homework before putting him in the lineup (kidding).
GAME 1 NOTES AND ANALYSIS - Both Hagelin and Anton Stralman picked up assists in their first career NHL playoff games.
- Michael Del Zotto looked much more comfortable with the puck in the defensive zone on Thursday night than he had down the stretch of the regular season. Del Zotto said earlier this week that it feels at this time of year that one mistake can end up in the back of your net, and for most of Thursday night he played with the requisite urgency and poise he'll need throughout the playoffs.
- Mike Rupp missed wide of an open net from the red line when Senators goalie Craig Anderson came out to play the puck, but the goal wouldn't have counted even if Rupp had hit the net. John Mitchell, the Ranger whose puck pursuit forced Anderson out to near the blue line, was still retreating from the defensive zone and offsides when Rupp fired the puck into the zone.
- Brandon Dubinsky blocked a shot just over two minutes in the second-period and could be seen wincing in pain on the bench, but John Tortorella used his fourth line in between a shift for Brad Richards' line and Derek Stepan's, allowing Dubinsky and the Brian Boyle line to catch a breather. Dubinsky was back out for the next shift.
- The Senators' Jason Spezza saw it clear as day: the Rangers kept Ottawa's shots and scoring chances mostly to the outside, preventing Henrik Lundqvist from having to deal with too many bodies in the middle.
"I think we need to try to get a little more traffic," Spezza said. "They're going to block a lot of shots but we've got to try to get some more bodies in front of Hank. When he can see it, he's one of the best. We've just got to keep pounding pucks on him, keep bodies in front of him, and just try to make it harder for him to see pucks."
The Rangers blocked 20 shots, compared to 12 for the Senators, led by Dan Girardi (four) and Ryan McDonagh (three).
- The Rangers won 48% of the faceoffs Thursday night (32-of-67), led by third-line center Brian Boyle (13-of-25). As long as New York isn't dominated in the circles, the Blueshirts will do well to maintain a fair amount of possession.
TORTS PREGAME: RANGERS HAVE COME A LONG WAY The trip to Sweden, the Winter Classic and HBO's 24/7 all could have been distractions that derailed the Rangers. But when Henrik Lundqvist stopped the Flyers' Danny Briere on a penalty shot with 19.6 seconds remaining in Philadelphia on Jan. 2, John Tortorella's outlook on the season changed.
"That's when I felt that we could do something," the coach said Thursday morning at the Garden. "Our goal was to get out of the bottom-feeder positions – seventh, eight and ninth – and try to get up with the upper-echelon teams. That's when I thought we had a chance."
More than three months later, the top-seeded Rangers opened their first-round series against the eight-seed Ottawa Senators at the Garden on Thursday night. And they wore their regular-season as a badge of courage, a sign they've already been through hectic games and stretches, hoping to make the playoffs another rung on their belt.
"This year we had a lot of stretches and a lot of things that could have been distractions," said Henrik Lundqvist, the team's backbone in goal, as Tortorella often says. "But that helps you to improve your game mentally to be ready for the playoffs or stretches where you have more things going on around you. That helped us, and it helped me. I learned to deal with different scenarios, and it's a good thing. That's why I think it's easier for a goalie when you get a little older to handle different situations under pressure."
In the visitor's locker room on Thursday morning, Senators center Jason Spezza drew confidence on his end from 46 games of playoff experience, which he explained means more when a team is down, not up.
"Once you've played a little bit in the league you realize you're going to lose some games in the playoffs," Spezza said. "You're not going to win every night. It's how you handle the losses and how you bounce back as a team. … Experience comes into it there."
Spezza was a Ranger killer during the regular season, scoring five goals in four games, but he arrived deferential to Lundqvist, the King who is now 30 years old with his best chance at winning a Stanley Cup.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for him – I think he's the best (goalie) in the game," Spezza said. "He's a guy that I always do a little extra homework on and pay attention to and I watch him a lot, out of respect to him."
Have a question about the Blueshirts or a comment? Find Pat on Twitter at @NYDNRangers.
No comments:
Post a Comment