Rangers at Sabres Game Two Thoughts

April 27, 2007   ·   Joe McDonald   ·   Jump to comments

As many of you know, I’m giving full extensive NHL playoff coverage over at my site Hitting Back.

If you need any articles, info or postgame analysis, I’ll be supplying it for the rest of the playoffs in the NHL Playoff section.

So what do the Rangers need to do to respond to a disappointing Game One 5-2 loss against an explosive Buffalo team?

1.Remain disciplined. They took some very unnecessary penalties in Game 1 which killed their momentum.

2.Smart decisions with the puck. The Sabres love to aggressively attack and force turnovers. The Rangers reset too much and paid the price. Move the puck quickly and get it out.

3.A better forecheck. This pretty much goes without saying. The Rangers just didn’t get the puck in the corners enough and work the Buffalo D. They can be attacked.

4.No silly turnovers. Buffalo is the best countering team in the game because of their dangerous speed and skill. The Rangers must stay away from glaring mistakes.

5.Don’t back up. Too many instances, this happened and hurt them. You can’t do it against this team.

6.Lundqvist must shine. Enough said!

7.Jagr and Avery play their game. While No.68 created chances, he didn’t get many shots (2). Avery also was a nonfactor and was minus-three with two minors. He needs a much better game.

8.Get the lead. Take that crowd out of it.

9.No mental lapses.

10.Smart changes.