GREENBURGH, N.Y. _ The Rangers have a blueprint of how to disrupt the Senators' tight forecheck structure as they head to Ottawa for the pivotal Game 5 Saturday afternoon.
It's the Rangers' own structure, one that has them forcing plays at their own blue line and turning them quickly into offensive chances. That has had the Sens on their heels, flustered at not being able to play deeper in the Rangers zone and looking lost against the Rangers transition game that has produced roughly 20 odd-man rushes in Games 2, 3 and 4, all games the Rangers controlled for long stretches.
"We are making plays we need to make with the puck, that's enabled us to get out of our zone fairly clean, through the neutral zone and we've been able to spend some time in their end," Alain Vigneault said following the Rangers' practice here on Friday as the team prepared for its return journey to suburban Ottawa.
Neither of the past two games was particularly close, but when they were, the Senators simply weren't producing the number of shots and chances they did in Game 1. In that opening game, a 2-1 win, Ottawa attempted 52 shots when the game was either tied or within a goal either way. They generated just 28 shots in the same situation, tied or within a goal, in Games 3 and 4 combined, and only six attempts in Game 3 total.
That underscores how out of reach those games were fairly quickly for the Senators and how the Rangers kept Henrik Lundqvist free of traffic and pressure for two straight nights, certainly a help to the 35-year-old goaltender who was busy and superb in the opening round win over the Canadiens.
"We had really good structure the last couple games, we didn't give up much," Lundqvist said. "They play a pretty structured game and they can strike when you make a mistake, but we haven't made too many mistakes the last couple games. But we expect them to come out harder tomorrow, being at home, with their crowd behind them."
Vigneault said how pleased he's been that his players have focused on "whistle to whistle" play, a not-so-subtle dig at the Sens for their attempt to muddy Game 4 with some late-game scrums. Dion Phaneuf fought Brendan Smith and three other melees broke out in the final minute thanks to extra whacks or shoves by Ottawa players.
"That's just playoffs," Kevin Hayes said. "No one wants to lose in the playoffs. I don't think there's any carryover there."
The Rangers will want to remember their stingy ways on the ice the last two games, but they say they don't much care about the results. The Rangers have been the better team over the four games, trailing for just 4:11 of the 262:54 of game time so far, but Saturday's game is too important to rely on what worked before.
"We were in a tough spot, we did our job at home and it's 2-2," Lundqvist said. "We're not overexcited, it's a lot of work ahead to try and win the series. We continue believing in ourselves and our structure, keep the focus we've had the last couple games."
