Gerard Gallant tweaks power play as Rangers prepare for Game 5

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – When he was asked on Tuesday whether the Rangers’ power play needed to make adjustments to counter whatever adjustments the Devils’ penalty kill had made against them after the first two games of their first-round playoff series, Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said no.

The power play had not been a problem, he insisted. It would be fine.

But as the Rangers practiced Wednesday in preparation for Game 5 Thursday in Newark, Gallant had the power-play units experimenting with different looks, with players moving to different positions at different times.

“I mean, during the regular season, you're not playing the same team over and over again,’’ Gallant said. “So (in a series) you throw different looks out there.’’

Point man Adam Fox said that after the Rangers had scored four times in 10 power-play opportunities over the first two games last week, the Devils had made some adjustments. And with the Rangers having gone 0-for-8 with the man advantage in the last two games, he suggested the unit needed to diversify things a bit.

“You look at our goals (in Games 1 and 2), they're tips and stuff, around the front of the net,’’ Fox said. “You’re not always going to get that perfect tip past the goalie.

“I think we've gotten looks, we've gotten chances,’’ he continued. “And of course, when you play a series, they're going to adjust. And we’ve got to make adjustments as well, and try and get one (power-play goal) and get momentum from it.’’

On Wednesday, Mika Zibanejad, who led the Rangers in goals (39) in the regular season and was tied for third in the NHL with 20 power-play goals, was set up mostly on the left side on the first power-play unit. He had been playing in the slot, in the so-called “bumper’’ position, after Patrick Kane joined the team just before the trade deadline, but had moved back to his familiar spot in the left circle during Game 3 on Saturday.

On one set Wednesday, Zibanejad was set up in the left circle with Artemi Panarin in the slot and Kane in the right circle. A second set had Zibanejad on the left, Panarin on the right, and Kane in the slot. A third had Panarin and Zibanejad both on the left, with Panarin below the circle, Zibanejad above it, and Kane below the right circle.

Even the second unit saw some shifting, with the left-shooting Vladimir Tarasenko and right-shooting Vincent Trocheck swapping spots, Trocheck moving to the right circle and Tarasenko to the left.

The idea, Gallant said, was to remind the players they have the freedom to move around the ice and change positions as they see fit during the power play.

Kane, who had three power-play assists in the first two games, and who is tied (with Chris Kreider and Fox) for the team lead in playoff scoring with six points, said despite the lack of goals the last two games, the power play has generated chances.

“We haven't scored, but I think, overall, the movement and the passing, and the shots we've created have been pretty good,’’ he said. “I'll take Mika shooting in the slot any day of the week, and we've had that a few times.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

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.