Canadiens vs. Rangers: Adjustments must be made for New York in Game 4

The Canadiens have just a one-game advantage over the Rangers in this first round, but Montreal has clearly shown they’ve been better at adapting than New York.

Montreal was unable to get anything by Henrik Lundqvist in Game 1, but putting more bodies in front of the Rangers netminder worked wonders in their Game 2 overtime comeback victory. In Game 3, it was much of the same. Add in a pair of power play goals and the Canadiens cruised to an easy 3-1 victory on Sunday.

In Game 4, it’s the Rangers now that will need to adjust to Montreal’s pushback or face an elimination game on the road on Thursday.

New York’s counterattack style hasn’t been given anything to work with. The Rangers famously live and die on the counterpunch, betting that Lundqvist or their defense can absorb high-quality chances and the offense can get a rush down the ice. Instead, Montreal has practically stuffed that with a suffocating defense. Shea Weber ate up almost 30 minutes of ice time on Sunday, the most ice time by any skater on either side by far. And when Montreal’s defense has faltered, Carey Price has been there to pick up the pieces, allowing one goal on 21 shots.

Mats Zuccarello. New York’s highest-scoring player has had just one point through three games. The Rangers generated only 21 shots on Sunday, and their offense will need to do more in order to beat Price. Zuccarello led the Rangers in assists this season, and his playmaking ability will certainly be needed if New York wants to even this series.

Carey Price. The Rangers don’t want to leave New York without a win, so they’ll likely be firing on all cylinders in an attempt to jump out early. How Price, and by extension the Canadiens’ defense, weathers that storm in the first period could be an indicator of how this game goes.

The Rangers. The offense gets going and Lundqvist from Game 1 returns to help the Rangers even the series in a key spot.