Dan Carcillo 'only' played 8:57 in game three, but if you know anything about Carcillo every minute, every second is a war. As he was to say after the game, "This time of the year, it's definitely a man's game." And the man, Dandy Dan II, Giradi is Dandy Dan I, played a man's game. A goal, plus two, two shots, two hits, two penalties and a stare down of a Flyer fan giving him the finger after Carcillo scored the Rangers fourth and final goal before a hostile and disappointed crowd at Wells Fargo Center. This season the Rangers were 19-9-3 with Carcillo in the lineup. He was scratched nine times which is more an indictment of the coach than it is the player.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead on goals by Stepan and St. Louis who is starting to ramp it up. Then Streit scored and it was 2-1 Rangers after one and looked like deja vu all over again. The collapse? No way. The Rangers played tough and Giradi's goal made it 3-1 and the Flyers could not mount a comeback. Both teams were futile on the power play. Flyers 0-5, Rangers 0-4. The hits were even 39 apiece, the shots were 32-23 Flyers but the Rangers blocked 28 shots and the Flyers only 11.
Lundqvist made 31 saves and I can't imagine anyone but Henrik in the nets during this playoff run. When the Rangers fail, it's because they lose their intensity, their discipline and focus. Last night was a blueprint for victory. When cutting ice time don't cut the grinders. Don't cut the fourth line, and especially don't cut Dandy Dan II's time. It's a man's game this time of the year and Dan is the Man. Both of them.
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Given Carcillo's play last night, he deserves to be in the line-up the rest of the playoffs...
Is Game 4 a trap game?
There is no way that AV leaves Carcillo out of the lineup, unless he starts taking dumb penalties. Don't think that will happen. I think “The Car Bomb” as Carcillo was known in Philly blows up their cool, and the Flyers stay unglued.