Rangers squeezing everything they can out of red-hot Alexis Lafreniere could hit roadblock

NHL

By Larry Brooks

SUNRISE, Fla. — I’m not sure how the Rangers did this and I am not sure this is sustainable but despite being mauled physically while playing nearly the entirety of Sunday’s Game 3 in their own end below the hash marks, the Blueshirts somehow persevered to record a 5-4 overtime victory over the Panthers to grab a 2-1 lead in the conference final.

But perhaps this serves as a perfect illustration of this team’s greatest asset. That is their mentality. That is their mindset. They can bend like a gold medal-winning gymnast. But they do not break. They do not lose their composure. Much like the 2011-12 Black-and-Blueshirts, they seem comfortable taking punches on the ropes.

“It’s kind of a no-panic mentality,” said Barclay Goodrow, who has scored five of the team’s last 16 goals after getting a pair in this one that included one on the penalty kill. “It’s the structure that’s been instilled in us all year by [Peter Laviolette] and the coaching staff.

“That’s what we’re kind of relying on when we’re under siege and it’s not looking good at times. You know, guys blocked some shots, Shesty made some huge saves.”

Igor Shesterkin sure did make some huge saves to deny the Panthers after they had scored twice within a span of 1:54 to tie the score at 4-4 by the 6:58 mark of the third period, after trailing 4-2 despite a 54-25 advantage in attempts that swelled to 95-36 after regulation. Scoring chances in the third period were 21-4 against.

In the end, after Alex Wennberg’s deflection in front won it at 5:35 of OT, the Rangers had blocked 37 shots, led by Jacob Trouba’s nine, as they were out-attempted 108-44 overall.

I said, they were out-attempted 108-44.

And they won the game.

“We’ve been here multiple times,” said Vincent Trocheck, whose team is 4-0 in overtimes this tournament. “You don’t want to be in that spot, but it was just kind of fighting to live another day for each shift we were out there.

“After the third period was over, we had time to reset and go back out there … and actually win.”

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The Rangers were shorthanded six times, three times in the first period while allowing a pair of Puddy Tat PPGs. They were crushed repeatedly on the walls. They iced the puck over and over. They were hurried into turnovers by Florida’s ferocious forecheck.

They seemed dead on their feet one shift after another even though they managed to survive. This was one where Laviolette’s reluctance to play Matt Rempe — one 22-second shift after the second period — came back to bite the team. It would not be a surprise if he’s a scratch on Tuesday.

“I think it comes down to trusting our game plan and trusting the guys on the ice,” Braden Schneider said. “Mistakes are going to happen and you’re going to need a big save once in a while, but I think we do a good job of hanging in there.

“We’re a very resilient team, we’re good at finding a way to win. That’s so important.”

This is hard hockey. This is heavy hockey. But the Rangers need to get production from Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, none of whom have scored in the series. They always seem to be defending.

I’m not sure how Laviolette can do this, but the Rangers simply have to get more ice time for Alexis Lafreniere, who scored a pair of spectacular backhand goals off the rush, the first on a breakaway. The Rangers seemed slow. Lafreniere was fast. He was dynamic. He was on his horse in full gallop.

The problem, though, is that Lafreniere played only a sum of 15:58 and only 9:27 through the first two periods that were filled with special teams play. Lafreniere is not on the penalty kill. He is not on the first power-play unit, which is to say that he essentially is not on the power play.

If you devise a template for the Rangers to emerge against a much heavier, much bigger team, it would be to dominate on the power play. It’s been exactly the opposite with the Blueshirts 0-for-8 in this series and 1-for-18 since the second game of the Carolina series.

And I understand how disruptive it would be for Laviolette and assistant coach Michael Peca, who runs the power play, to elevate Lafreniere onto the first unit. In place of whom, you would ask and I don’t have the answer. The Rangers would have to rewire it. Hey, maybe they can. But who’s coming off? Zibanejad? Kreider?

Again, it’s probably not realistic, but there is no doubt that Lafreniere will get the opportunity next year. He will probably kill penalties next year, too. But I don’t expect that Tuesday night.

The Rangers are digging in as best they can. They were forced into a thousand mistakes. They took a physical beating. I cannot imagine this is sustainable even if Shesterkin pulls a 1994 Mike Richter reprise.

The Blueshirts simply have to take better care of the puck in their own end, they have to move it quicker to beat the forecheck, they have to play in Florida’s end and they have to score on the power play.

The attempts were 108-44 against.

The Rangers won the game.

Of course they did.

Two more to play for the Cup.