Thursday, April 23, 2015

Trench Warfare

How else to describe last night's game. It was wall to wall battles. Checks, hits. You want hits. The Rangers piled up 42 hits, the Pens 28. The only place to avoid a hit was sitting on the bench. This was grandson Nicholas type of game. Battle along the boards. Battle in front of the nets. Battle. Battle. Trench warfare.

The Rangers win in OT, 2-1, gives them a 3-1 lead heading into MSG Friday. Teams with 3-1 lead in playoffs win over 90% of the time. However, remember last year we came back from a 1-3 hole against the Pens and won the series. So there is always a however.

Kevin Hayes scored his first playoff goal and what a beauty, poking one past a prone Fleury, who was good again, to send the Rangers into ecstasy. The other Ranger goal, Brassard, was also scored on a scrum in front of Fleury, to tie the game. This is scrum hockey, trench warfare.

The Rangers have won three games with identical 2-1 scores. They have scored nine goals in four games. The Pens have scored seven goals in four games. The big outburst was game two with a 4-3 Pens win. The Rangers can't score and their power play sucks. It was 0-2 in the game, 2-17 in the series. It may yet be the death of them.

Number one son predicted the Rangers would win this series in five. It could be a long summer if he gets this one right and the remaining series right. The Rangers win. I'll take it. Right now it looks like Lundqvist on his game, the D strong, scrums in front of the nets and battle, battle, battle. Trench warfare.



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1 comments:

  • Dan Stryker said...
     

    Tired of the bias NBC announcers, when is their contract up with the NHL playoffs?

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