PENGUINS at RANGERS
(Pittsburgh leads best-of-7 series 2-1)
TV: NBCSN, CBC, RDS
Big story: New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault inserted defenseman Raphael Diaz and forwards J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast into the lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Pittsburgh won 2-0 to take the series lead, the Rangers outshot Pittsburgh 35-15, and Vigneault hinted Tuesday he could stick with the same lineup in Game 4.
He also expects the off-day to re-energize a team that played five games in seven days.
"Now we're going into a normal schedule where we're playing every other night," Vigneault said Tuesday. "We're behind by one game; our most important game is tomorrow."
Team Scope:
Penguins: Pittsburgh's performance in Game 3 wasn't nearly as sharp as the complete two-way effort in the Penguins' 3-0 victory in Game 2 on Sunday. Though two of their stars, captain Sidney Crosby and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, came through in Game 3, the Penguins know they'll need to be better if they hope to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
Heading into Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, the Penguins are looking for a more balanced attack.
"I think at the end of the day, when we look at our team, it's pretty well built from the forwards to the goalies," defenseman Kris Letang said Tuesday. "It's all guys who want to want to win for each other. I think that's how we're built and I think that's how we answer every game. There's guys stepping up every night. It's not always the same guys. I think collectively, we know if we don't play as a five-man unit on the ice, we're not going to do anything good."
Rangers: Vigneault and his players sounded confident following a frustrating Game 3 in which they believed they deserved a better fate. But there is still no getting around the topic of New York's ineffective power play. The Rangers have failed to score with the man advantage on 34 straight attempts, a skid that skid dates to Game 2 of their opening-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. They are 0-for-13 against the Penguins.
With Diaz manning one point, New York did manage 10 shots on its five power plays, almost matching Pittsburgh's shot total for the entire game. Vigneault hopes a day off will help.
"I understand we didn't score and we didn't finish on those opportunities, but I believe with this day off here our execution might be better," Vigneault said. "I'm going in there with a lot of confidence and I'm sure our players feel the same way."
! 6-1 Pens!
