Rangers seek power-play advantage
Ryan Callahan #24 of the New York Rangers and Sergei Gonchar #55 of the Ottawa Senators chase the puck into the corner. (April 16, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
OTTAWA -- Ryan Callahan Tuesday agreed the tipping point of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals between his Rangers and the Senators could be which team gets its power play going.
The Rangers, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, are 1-for-11 and the Senators are 1-for-10.
During the season, the Senators were more potent, 18.2 percent to 15.7 percent. The Blueshirts' penalty kill deserves credit for silencing Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, who each had 10 power-play goals.
Rangers coach John Tortorella has switched his power play point men, with Anton Stralman (seven shots on goal in three games) elevated to the first unit and playmaker Derek Stepan dropped to the second, a move that the coach said wasn't a knock on Stepan.
"As your power play goes on here -- I don't think it was bad [Monday]," Tortorella said. "But we're not getting the results that we want. I don't know which group is going to go first, so we balance it out with our points."
In Game 4s of playoff series, the Rangers are 39-29 all-time, including 5-1 since 2007 . . . The Blueshirts' win in Game 3 was the 38th postseason shutout in franchise history. It was the 11th time that the Rangers won a playoff game by a final score of 1-0, but only the second time since 1940 . . . Henrik Lundqvist became the third goaltender in NHL history -- and second in two days (the Kings' Jonathan Quick blanked Vancouver) -- to make 39 or more saves in a 1-0 victory in a non-overtime game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
More Rangers
