Fueled by a difference in the schedule, the Rangers held hope that they weren’t going to repeat themselves with a dud performance in Game 3 of their second-round series just as they did at the same juncture in the first round.
Having lost in overtime in Montreal in Game 2 of the first round, the Blueshirts had one day off and then came home knotted at one game apiece in the series and laid an egg in front of their fans with a desultory 3-1 defeat. Now in the second round against the Senators, they’re down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, but after a brutal 6-5 double-overtime loss in Game 2 in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon, they have two days off — really, 2 ¹/₂ days — before they have to retake the ice for Game 3 at the Garden on Tuesday night.
“I got to tell you, I think this extra day off between games is going to be beneficial for us,” coach Alain Vigneault said on a conference call Sunday. “Nearly the same situation happened in Game 2 in Montreal and we didn’t respond real well at home in Game 3.”
The Rangers traveled home after Game 2 in Ottawa, and the players had off Sunday while the coaches convened early to analyze the tape and start discussing some changes that might go into place during Monday’s practice.
“It’s going to permit [us] to show maybe a little more video, and it’s going to give our players an extra day,” Vigneault said. “There’s no doubt that was a tough loss [Saturday], considering the way we played. But we’ll use this extra 24 hours to consume it and take the time to adjust in a couple areas, and I think that’s going to be beneficial for our group.”
It’s certainly possible that one of the changes might be the lineup, which has fluctuated the past five games, going back to Game 4 of the first round.
“I would tell you that everything is on the table right now,” Vigneault said. “Whatever we feel is best for the group is what we’re going to do.”
Possible players coming out would be rookie winger Pavel Buchnevich, who didn’t play an even-strength shift after the second period in Game 2, and defenseman Nick Holden, who was caught making a bad read while pinching down on the game-winning goal to Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Holden and partner Marc Staal were on for three goals against, but Vigneault wasn’t jumping to any conclusions.
“Nick has played some pretty good hockey for us,” Vigneault said. “Nobody is going to be perfect out there. We’re going to make mistakes. When the mistakes end up in the back of your net, obviously people are analyzing them a little more in depth. That’s one, because it became the winning goal, people have a right to analyze. And we’re analyzing it also.”
As for defending Pageau, who scored four goals in Game 2 after having 12 in 82 regular-season games, Vigneault thought his reputation as a defensive center might have to go out the window.
“Maybe I’m going to put a checker on their checker, because he’s supposed to be their checker and he got four goals,” the coach said. “There’s no doubt that they had a few goals from tips that made it very difficult. It is something that we’re going to see if we can’t come up with a little different strategy there.”