What the Rangers need to do tonight...

With Game 7 looming just a few hours away, the New York Rangers prepare for the biggest game of their lives. After taking the early series lead, the Rangers lost a few leads late in games at were on the brink of elimination Monday night. After some big names stepped up to help the Rangers take a 3-2 victory, it now comes down to one game and one game only. What do the Rangers need to do to win this game?

First, the offense needs to contribute more than 2 goals tonight. Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik need to keep putting pressure on Craig Anderson. One of the main problems I've noticed in this series is the big bodies on the defense for the Senators. Carkner, Gonchar, Kuba, Phillips....all these players have done a great job in defending the rebounds Anderson has given up....which has been a lot. The Rangers need to push through tonight and get to those loose pucks in front. They need to out-battle the big defenders in the corners and use their speed as the biggest weapon. Getting a goal on Anderson early would be huge but it could be one of those goalie duels we've seen lately based on how good these two are playing. Therefore, the main goals for tonight is to win the battles in the offensive zone, create good chances, and get to the rebounds with speed and smarts. 

Defensively, the Rangers seem just fine. They have done well in stopping Ottawa's big guns and keeping the puck out of the net in general. Girardi, McDonagh, and Staal will see tons of ice time tonight as they shut down the offensive attack the Senators bring. Henrik Lundqvist will surely be on his game as he's been all series. He may even be better after he was furious with the officiating in Monday's game. The Rangers defense needs to just block as many shots as they can and clear the lanes for Lundqvist to see everything. Do that successfully and you may even see a 0 on the board after the 3rd period. 

The last thing is special teams. The Rangers need to capitalize on powerplay chances tonight. When they do, they usually can put up multiple powerplay goals. They need to move the puck to open space, find the shooting lane, walk in as much as possible, and rip shots for rebounds. Callahan will have a lot to handle in front of the net but can definitely find some open seems in there. They also need to stay out of the box. Ottawa has some dangerous weapons (Spezza, Michalek, Turris, Alfi, etc) to put on the powerplay and will put the puck in if given too many chances. 

If the Rangers keep to their plan and play like they should, they can definitely come out on top. Waiting in line is a surprising Capitals team that did a nice job in beating Boston in 7.