NEW YORK | Alexis Lafrenière has his big series beard with red highlights. Despite his young age, at 20, he keeps to an old tradition with more chin hair this time of year. But the Quebecer does not intend to take out his razor quickly.
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Lost 3-1 in Game 5 to the Hurricanes in Raleigh, the Rangers will play for survival in Game 6 tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden.
The example of the Penguins
For a fourth time already since the start of the playoffs, the “Blue Shirts” will seek to avoid elimination. Lafrenière is inspired by the resilience of his team against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs to believe in his chances against the Hurricanes.
“Against Pittsburgh, we faced elimination three times. We were down 3-1 in that series, Lafrenière told reporters at the Rangers training center. We had played well in the crucial matches. We know what to do. We don’t have to change our approach. We will have to play as a team and keep our identity.
“We have confidence, continued the class leader of the 2020 draft. We know we can come back. We did it in the playoffs. We will need to play as a team. And that’s what we’ll do on Saturday. »
Gerard Gallant gave a speech similar to that of his young striker
“When you’re down 3-2 in a series, you have your back against the wall,” the Rangers head coach said. You know if you lose the next game, there’s no tomorrow. Despite this, we have to play our style. We did very well against the Penguins. And I hope we will do the same. There is a sense of urgency. It’s pretty obvious. »
Back at home
Since the start of this series, the Hurricanes have won their three games at the PNC Arena, while the Rangers have signed two victories at the legendary Madison Square Garden.
“They are clearly a better team at home than on the road. And I can say the same for our team, noted Gallant. I do not really know why. In the last game, we didn’t have a real chance of winning. But for the first two games in Carolina, we were in on it. For the fifth game, they controlled the puck, they generated turnovers in the neutral zone. »
no blame
Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider failed to live up to their talent in the last game by not firing a single shot in the direction of Antti Raanta.
In New York, the two star forwards were a talking point. But Gallant did not fall into the trap.
“I cannot criticize Panarin. Two games ago he was our best player even though he didn’t get a point. In the last game, there are several players who didn’t have a great night. I’m not going to sit here blaming Panarin and Kreider. They will bounce back.
“Chris Kreider has scored 58 goals this year [52 en saison et 6 en séries]. He is having a great season. I can just say one thing. The closer he is to the net, the more likely he is to score. »
For this sixth game, the Rangers will place a lot of hope on their goalkeeper, Igor Shesterkin. The Russian has five wins and one loss with a 2.05 GAA and .949 save percentage at MSG since the start of the playoffs.
“Igor makes us believe that we can win all our games,” summarized Gallant. He’s still amazing. »