The Pittsburgh Penguins, down two games to one in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to the New York Rangers, do not face a must-win situation in Game 4 tonight at Consol Energy Center.
It does feels like one, though.
A win would send the Penguins back to New York with the series evened and assured that a pivotal Game 6 would be played on home ice. With a loss, the Penguins will face elimination in Madison Square Garden on Friday, and would have to win three straight games to move on to the next round.
The key to a Penguins victory in Game 4 could very well be the first 20 minutes. In the first periods of the first three games of the series, the Penguins haven’t scored a goal, and have taken just 13 shots while giving up four goals on 23 shots. The Penguins have also taken seven first-period penalties, compared to one for the Rangers.
“I talked about the starts for each game,” Penguins head coach Mike Johnston said after morning skate. “If you really look at the starts for both teams, there have been low shot totals at the 10-minute mark. I think both teams have felt each other out.”
For the Penguins to take the advantage, they will have to do two things: get more shots through the stifling Rangers defense, and find a way to beat goaltender Henrik Lundqvist when they do.
“Now, we’ve played them three times,” Johnston said. “There are a couple of things we can do early in the game to really establish our game like we did in the third (period of Game 3) or like we did in the second game. If you look at the trends of the three games played so far, the first 10 minutes both teams are pretty cautious, they’re feeling each other out. I think we can come out with a more assertive approach tonight”
The players have gotten the message that the aggressive mindset that was successful in Game 2 and the third period of Game 3 will be required from the beginning tonight.
“Starting games, we’ve just got to get some shot volume for a mindset for us get pucks to the net and bodies, and create some confusion in the offensive zone,” said forward Daniel Winnik. “In terms of first periods in general, we need to be better, but shot totals for both teams have been relatively low. The Rangers scored on their opportunities, that’s been the difference.”
THE 4077: Defenseman Derrick Pouliot was a full participant in today’s morning skate.
“He’s really close to playing,” Johnston said. It doesn’t seem likely that he will re-join the lineup this evening, but he could be a candidate to play in Game 5 on Friday.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING: The Washington Capitals evened the other Metropolitan Division series at two games a piece after beating the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday. Two days after Islanders captain John Tavares had an overtime winner, it was Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom returning the favor with his third goal of the postseason 11:09 into the extra frame.
Alex Ovechkin has a goal and an assist for the Capitals. Casey Cizikas scored the lone goal for New York. The series will return to Washington for Game 5 on Thursday.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will begin their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with the Syracuse Crunch on Friday at 7:05. Game 3 will be on Saturday as the Penguins will host the first two games of the best-of-five series before the series shifts to Syracuse for Games 3 and 4, which will be played on next Wednesday and Thursday, if necessary. Game 5 would be back in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, May 2.
The Wheeling Nailers host the Toledo Walleye tonight at 7:05 p.m. in Game 3 of their North Division Semifinal series. The series is tied at 1-1 after the Nailers earned a split of Games 1 and 2 in Toledo last week. Games 3 through 5 will be in Wheeling tonight, Friday and Saturday. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, would be played back in Toledo.
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