The Boston Bruins have jumped out to a 2-0 advantage over the New York Rangers in their second round NHL playoffs series in the Eastern conference and if the Blueshirts can't pull off a win in Game 3 at home in Madison Square Garden, they may get sent home early from the postseason again.
The Rangers opened with the same results against the Washington Capitals and were able to win Games 3 and 4 by the score of 4-3 after being shutout in Game 2 and they will need to do the same again to keep tight in the series against Boston. The Rangers primary issues in the playoffs have been with scoring and if Rick Nash can use the goal he scored in Game 2 for some momentum, the Rangers will be in a much better position in the series.
Henrik Lundqvist will be playing with an injured shoulder in Game 3 and the Rangers will need him to play like he did at the end of the Capitals series when he shutout the team two games in a row to send the Rangers into the next round. Lundqvist allowed five goals in Game 2 on 27 saves and he will need to play much better after giving up more than four goals for the first time in over 150 games played. Nash and Ryan Callahan scored for the Rangers in Game 2, but the team was held scoreless in the third while the Bruins added four goals over the final two periods, putting the game out of reach.
Nash and Brad Richards need to play much better for the Rangers and the team also needs to do a better job on top players like Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand, who both scored in the last game. In the previous series the Rangers totally shutdown Alex Ovechkin and without some solid defense they will be down 3-0 in the series very quickly. A win would change everything though and could shift the momentum back to New York in the series. The team appeared to be ready to win Game 1, but after the game went to overtime the Bruins had a barrage of shots and eventually got the game winner from Marchand through the five hole of Lundqvist, who was a half second too late on the goal. Derek Brassard still leads the team in points and assists after coming over in the Marian Gaborik trade and Derek Stepan is one of only a handful of players with more than one goal this postseason, as he leads the team with three. Coach John Tortorella has been preaching defense in practice and Ryan Callahan has said that he needs to step up and play better for the Rangers to get back into the series.
Boston appears to be playing at a Stanley Cup level again after winning two years ago, while the Rangers are still trying to get back to the finals for the first time since 1994. The team was the number one seed last season, but lost to the devils in the East finals after going seven in each of their first two series against Ottawa and Washington.
