The Penguins and their 16 consecutive playoff appearances — which includes their qualifying-round exit in the 2020 bubble playoffs but shouldn’t — is a mentally daunting challenge, but the Rangers can only worry about themselves.
That has been Gerard Gallant’s message since Day 1 of training camp and the Rangers head coach is still preaching it to his team heading into Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh and its Big 3 of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are going to do what they do. The key for the Rangers, Gallant believes, is to control what they can control.
“We all know what kind of player he is, but if we’re going to worry about Sidney, then we’re going to have a tough time,” Gallant said after practice Monday at MSG Training Center. “I want us to keep playing the way the New York Rangers play. We got to worry about our team more than the other team. We got to think [about] what we’re going to do more than the other team. When we start worrying about the other team, what they’re going to do to us and you’re standing behind the eight ball and you’re hesitating on the ice. We got to play our game.
“That’s what I worry about most: Us playing our game at the top level that we play, with good pace and the way we play our game.”
Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant (back right) doesn’t want his players worrying about Sidney Crosby.Jason SzenesThe Rangers have long been a team that can be its own worst enemy at times. It’s a trait that the club has begun to grow out of with management’s emphasis on individual roles and Gallant’s emphasis on having a short-term memory and playing to their strengths.
For the better part of the second half of the season, Gallant noted that the Rangers significantly improved their play in the defensive zone. They weren’t giving up nearly as many shots on goal or high-danger opportunities as they did at the start of the season — and that was a testament to improvements on the forecheck and puck possession.
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Sidney CrosbyIcon Sportswire via Getty Images“That’s the way I coach,” he said. “I worry about what our team can do against the other team. I know they got great players. They got star players. Every team has some great players and Sidney Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin and [Kris] Letang, they’re a different animal. We all know that.
“But if you’re going to worry about them, then we’re probably not going to play our game the way I want us to play our game. Be aware when they’re on the ice and manage the puck better when they’re on the ice, stuff like that. But it’s about what we’re going to do.”
Gallant’s team-focus approach has resonated with his players. Alexis Lafreniere was asked about going up against Crosby in his first playoff series, and the 20-year-old admitted it was cool to go up against the NHLer he drew the most comparison to when coming into the league (Both played for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Rimouski Oceanic and were first-overall draft picks).
Lafreniere then quickly shifted and echoed Gallant’s mantra, saying, “the focus is really about us and not about them too much.”
“Because that’s what we can control, really,” Lafreniere said. “How we prepare and the way we’re going to show up. We know they’re a really good team and, you know, we’re a good team, too. So it should be really good matchup and we’ll get ready as much as we can and when the puck drops [Tuesday], we’ll try to play a good game.”
