Rangers look to change Game 4 fortunes

With an 0-2 record in Game 4s this postseason and some poor first periods against the Devils, the Rangers are "playing with fire," center Brad Richards said Sunday.

"We've got to realize where we're at and the opportunity we have to take a 3-1 series lead," Richards said on the eve of another Game 4. "We've gotten away with kind of the roller-coaster ride we've been on, but hopefully, the third time we realize -- I don't know if we'll win -- but that we have to come out with a really good effort."

In the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the Rangers took a two games to one lead into Ottawa for Game 4, and fell to the Senators on Kyle Turris' overtime goal, 3-2. Then, with a chance to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in the conference semifinals against the Capitals, the Rangers lost, 3-2, in Washington.

Richards said the team knows "we can't continue to play or have a first period like that . . . you're playing with fire. So we'll be focused on getting a good start and giving ourselves the best chance to win. Hopefully, we're learning lessons, but [the Devils] need it, too. They'll play their best game of the year, and we've got to match that or be better than that."

Dubinsky still skatesBrandon Dubinsky, out since April 26, scrimmaged without a non-contact jersey during an optional skate at the Garden, and though his injured right ankle is improving, he reiterated that he couldn't offer a timetable for a return. "It was nice to be back with the guys, nice to shoot pucks at a goalie," he said. "But I'm just following Torts' rules."