Gerard Gallant doesn't think Rangers will change strategy in elimination game vs. Hurricanes
Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant reacts in the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins during Game Two of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Of course, these elimination games are different just by their very definition. The Rangers can either win Game 6 against the Hurricanes on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden or have one of their finer seasons end in the second round of the playoffs.
They’ve already won three elimination games in the first round against the Penguins, rallying from a 3-1 series deficit.
But the secret to that win-or-else success may be by not treating the games differently from any other in the playoffs.
“Your backs are against the wall,” coach Gerard Gallant said on Friday at the MSG Training Center. “You go out and play your game. You know if you lose this game, there’s no tomorrow. We did that real well last series and hopefully we can do it again tomorrow. I don’t think we change anything strategy-wise. Obviously, there’s a sense of urgency.”
Still, there must be some changes from the Rangers’ lethargic 3-1 loss in Thursday night’s Game 5 in Raleigh. They must get pucks in deeper into the Hurricanes’ zone and establish more of a forecheck. They need more shots on net — they had only 17 in Game 5 — and they need more traffic in front of Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta.
They must get more production from top players such as Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin, neither of whom was credited with a shot on goal in Game 5 and totaled only two chances.
And the Rangers must hope that the trend of home teams winning every game in this series — as was the case in the Hurricanes’ seven-game win over the Bruins in the first round — continues for now (and then changes for a Game 7, if necessary, on Monday night in Carolina).
“They’re definitely a better team at home than they have been on the road,” Gallant said. “And I can say the same thing for us. We’ve been a better team at home than we have been on the road. I don’t understand why that’s going on.”
“Home-ice advantage is big,” Alexis Lafreniere said. “We’re a really good team in our building. They’re a really good team in their building. You’ve got to win some road games if you want to win. We weren’t able to last night. It was a tough loss. We wanted to win that one, for sure. We have to defend home ice tomorrow and I think we’ll be able to.”
Lafreniere added that the home team being able to dictate the matchups by having the last change has played a significant role. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour has been able to effectively stifle Kreider’s line with Mika Zibanejad by getting Jordan Staal’s checking line out against it.
“It’s a big part of the game, but I don’t think you should have a different mindset of playing at home or playing away,” Lafreniere said. “It’s the same game.”
But slightly different in an elimination scenario.
Gallant, who played in the NHL from 1985-95, said “it definitely does” feel different to play in an elimination game.
The 20-year-old Lafreniere has played in only the three against the Penguins, but he said the Rangers can carry the lessons from that trio of victories into this Game 6.
“For sure against Pittsburgh, we had three elimination games and I think we played really good,” Lafreniere said. “We know what to do. We know how to play. We don’t have to change our game. I think we just have to play as a team and to be ourselves out there, and I think it should be just fine for us.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
