As the Ranger prepare for tonight’s game, they’ll likely be hearing the same story from John Tortorella: come out quickly with a strong forecheck, and take the body at every chance.
It was that recipe that ultimately paid dividends for the Rangers in game three, and more of the same will be what’s required tonight. The Caps for their part will likely be looking to ramp up the hitting as they did in game one, so the Rangers will need to be prepared.
Washington will also no doubt be looking to spend more time at even strength than they did in game three, where they took nine penalties and allowed seven power play opportunities – almost double (4) the amount they took in the first two games.
The Rangers for their part will need to be on guard against a Capitals team that is looking to stomp out any form of resistance. They didn’t play well on Sunday, and have had three days to work on improving their disposition going into tonight’s potential pivotal match-up.
A loss by the Rangers tonight would again put the series in a precarious situation, but a win would perhaps switch the momentum to New York and put some more doubts in the minds of their more favored opponents.
Dubinsky to center, Stepan to wing
The Rangers will make one change going into tonight’s game, making the switch of Brandon Dubinsky to center Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik official. Both Dubinsky and Prospal scored in game three, and Tortorella will be looking to try and rekindle an offensive line that fired on all cylinders last season.
As a result of the juggling, Derek Stepan will move over to the wing, a position he spent some time playing this season. Stepan is a team worst -3 and has no points in the first three games, and Tortorella will be hoping that the switch will give Stepan a break both defensively and offensively.
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