Here are 3 keys to game 6:
1. Power play mojo
The power play was one of the Rangers’ biggest sources of strength throughout the regular season (26.4 percent) and the first six games of the playoffs (40.0 percent).
This is one of their most glaring issues since Game 3 of the second round against the Hurricanes, and especially in this series against Florida.
The Rangers are averaging 8.3 percent (2-for-24) on the power play in their last nine games, including 7.1 percent (1-for-14) in the conference finals.
Not surprisingly, their goals per game in the postseason went from 3.83 in their first six games to 2.56 in their last nine games, including 2.20 against Florida.
A turnover on the power play in Game 6 could lead to a Game 7.
“(In Game 5) we were in the zone, we generated four or five quality chances, we generated 13 attempts on net, so it’s not like we were sitting there and we were completely blocked “, said the Rangers coach. » declared Pierre Laviolette. “We just didn’t score. We have to score.”
2. Wear them out
The Panthers dominated after the second period in three straight games, leading to victories in Games 4 and 5.
They outshot the Rangers 13-6 and won Game 5 in the third period on Anton Lundell’s goal at 10:22 and Sam Bennett’s empty-net goal at 18:08. Alexis Lafrenière scored for New York at 19:10 to make it 3-2.
Florida outshot the Rangers 15-5 between the third period and 72 seconds of overtime in Game 4. Lafrenière scored the only goal of the third to make it 2-2, but Sam Reinhart scored in power play in overtime to give the Panthers the 3-2 victory.
The Panthers also trailed 4-2 heading into Game 3, but they scored twice and outshot the Rangers 13-4. Alex Wennberg won it in overtime for New York.
Overall, the Panthers outscored their opponents 23-10 in the third period of the playoffs; the Rangers were dominated 15-13.
In what appears to be another close game, Florida’s third-period dominance could go a long way.
“I think that’s part of our game, wearing the other team down, kind of playing with a tough, defense-oriented mentality, and just wearing teams down and capitalizing on their mistakes,” Rodrigues said. “It seems like we’re getting better and better as the game goes on. We’re starting to feel more and more comfortable and I think we’ve done a really good job of building up in most of the games. matches.”
3. Rangers Rewind
NHL EDGE stats explain why this series swung in favor of the Panthers after the Rangers took a 2-1 lead.
The Panthers have a 28-11 advantage in high-danger shots on goal over the last two games, including 17-6 in Game 5. Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped 25, but given the volume, it’s not that surprising that they were injured. a goal better in both cases with 3-2 victories.
But the Rangers had a 23-19 advantage in high-danger shots on goal in the first three games, including 17-15 in Games 2 and 3, both of which they won.
New York didn’t need as many high-dangerous shots on goal to beat Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. He scored four of 10 in Game 3, but the Rangers need to be better in that area in Game 6 to have the best chance of forcing Game 7.
Rangers Projected Roster
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Filip Chytil
Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafrenière
Jack Roslovic – Alex Wennberg – Kaapo Kakko
Will Cuylle – Barclay Goodrow – Jonny Brodzinski
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Braden Schneider
Erik Gustafsson – Jacob Trouba
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Rapide
Striped: Zac Jones, Chad Ruhwedel, Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom, Blake Wheeler, Alex Belzile, Brett Berard, Anton Blidh, Ben Harpur, Dylan Garand, Jake Leschyshyn, Connor Mackey, Victor Mancini, Brennan Othmann, Tyler Pitlick, Matthew Robertson, Brandon Scanlin , Adam Sykora
Hurt: Jimmy Vesey (upper body)
Panthers Projected Roster
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Matthew Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Vladimir Tarasenko
Steven Lorentz – Kevin Stenlund – Kyle Okposo
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitri Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Striped: Ryan Lomberg, Nick Cousins, Tobias Bjornfot, Uvis Balinskis, Josh Mahura, Jonah Gadjovich, Spencer Knight, Rasmus Asplund, Mike Benning, Magnus Hellberg, Matt Kiersted, William Lockwood, Mackie Samoskevich, Justin Sourdif
Hurt: None
Status report
Brodzinski is expected to make his series debut in place of Rempe, who remained on the ice during the morning skate with the other scratches. Rempe, a forward, played 2:43 in Game 5. Brodzinski also worked on the second power play unit during morning skate. … Wheeler, a forward, was not on the ice Saturday morning. … The Panthers keep their lineup the same for the third straight game.
