Rangers-Capitals finale: Once more, with feeling
Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant during the first period against the Islanders at Madison Square Garden on April 1. Credit: Jim McIsaac
When the puck dropped Friday night in their regular-season finale, against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers didn’t know whether the game would be a preview of their first-round playoff matchup or not.
At the time, Washington was still battling with the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division, and the Rangers knew they’d face the winner of that battle when the playoffs begin Monday or Tuesday.
But while everyone acknowledged that, yes, that variable was going to make Friday night’s game a little weird, they promised it wasn’t going to change their approach.
“I think it is in the back of your mind, for sure,’’ center Ryan Strome said of the possibility Friday could have been a playoff preview. “I think you want to show them a good effort, and show your ‘compete level,’ and stuff like that. I think if you're going to be competing against a team in a seven-game series, obviously you want to put your best foot forward… More so than anything, it’s just a chance for us to continue to work on our habits and try to be as consistent as we can in our effort going in the last game, here, and be ready to go.’’
Coach Gerard Gallant promised the Rangers were going to try their hardest to win, and they weren’t going to hold anything back for fear of showing Capitals coach Peter Laviolette too much for pre-scouting purposes.
“Oh, no, no,’’ Gallant said at the morning skate at their practice facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. “You play the game to win the game.’’
He didn’t dress his full lineup, though. Forwards Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp each missed their second consecutive game with lower- and upper-body injuries, respectively. And Gallant opted to start backup goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, rather than No. 1 Igor Shesterkin, both in order to guard against potential injury to Shesterkin, and also to make sure he is properly rested and ready for Game 1.
Panarin and Copp both left Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to Carolina in the second period with their injuries, and while he’s now left them out of the lineup for two straight games, Gallant continued to insist that both players are just fine and will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.
“(They’re) getting better,’’ Gallant said. “We’re just being cautious… I fully expect them (for Game 1), yes. Just being safe.’’
Other than those two and Shesterkin, though, the lineup looked pretty close to what it will be next week. Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, all of whom had been rested in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to last-place Montreal, were expected to be back in the lineup. The quintet had been rested Wednesday because it was the second night of a back-to-back, and the loss Tuesday to Carolina meant the Rangers’ hopes of finishing first in the division were dashed, and they were locked into second place.
All five of the players play heavy minutes and would benefit from a rest, but not too much rest, apparently. Gallant wants everyone to be as sharp as possible when the playoffs start, and he didn’t want the five players going a week between games. Trouba, for one, appreciated the chance for one last dress rehearsal before the playoffs begin.
“You want to feel good, personally, I would say – or with your individual game – going into the playoffs,’’ he said. “So we'll have a chance to do that tonight, which I definitely think will help a lot of guys (including) me, for sure. I mean, I would like to get back in, feeling good, before the playoffs start.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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