Rangers penguins game 3
By: Dinner
Game 3 was a roller coaster of emotions. The Rangers went down early 4-1 going into the second but were able to rally back and tie the game at 4 a piece going into the third. The Rangers’ ‘No Quit in New York’ slogan says it all, but unfortunately the boys in blue were in Pittsburgh for Game 3 & were unable to complete the comeback and ended up falling to the Penguins 4-7 after a handful of empty net goals. I really don’t have much to say about this game so this blog is most likely going to be shorter than normal, it was all in all a really weird game but here are my takeaways from Game 3.
Igor Shesterkin had an extremely rough first period / game (Igor was benched after the first period). I feel bad for the dude because most of those goals were just flat out wack, but this honestly might be a good thing. Igor was clowned on in that first period & those penguins fans knew it too. I could hear them chanting “IGOR IGOR IGOR” after every goal through my TV and I know Shesterkin could hear it too. Nobody said the playoffs were going to be easy and I think with an embarrassing performance like that Igor is going to come out in game 4 on fire. He’s gotta make it personal and be that goalie that we all saw in games 1 & 2.
For the second game in a row the Rangers were called for a soft penalty early in the game. But unlike in Game Two where the Rangers penalty kill did their job, the Penguins were able to score. I am honestly so sick and tired of these goddamn refs. These soft calls are so fucking annoying & I honestly can’t tell if im watching hockey or soccer on ice by the way these refs want zero contact. IT’S PLAYOFF HOCKEY for god sake. It’s supposed to be more physical and if the refs won’t allow it to be this extremely gritty Rangers team is going to have to change their entire style of play.
In a positive spin the Crosby line was fairly quiet until the Rangers pulled Alexandar Georgiev in the third. That being said all of the other lines were just fucking shit up for the Penguins in that first period which honestly is even more annoying than the Crosby line tearing it up. So I hope going into Game 4 the Rangers can come out hot and hopefully stop all of the Penguins lines. I am not a fan of the pick and choose bullshit that is happening right now.
Now let’s quickly touch on the fact that Gallant pulled Georgiev with 2:24 minutes left. At the time it felt like it was a little early for the goalie to be pulled. I am all for pulling the goalie for that extra attacker. I do it all the time when I am playing NHL and am down late in the third. I know the head coach has to trust his guys but the Rangers have not been doing well in the faceoff category whatsoever so once that faceoff was lost I knew the game was over. The Penguins ended up scoring two empty netters for a final score of 7-4.
Like I stated before it was a roller coaster of emotions and I think the team needed this loss. Game 4 is going to be a completely different game & expect the physicality to be even more prevalent. It is going to be a do or die game for the Rangers because going down 3-1 is never ever ever a good thing. But I have faith for the boys in blue. Series prediction still stands: Rangers in 6.
