G4 New Jersey Devils @ New York Rangers: Level things up

The Devils have not played their best hockey – and been very undisciplined – through three games; but one good showing could see this series tied.

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A few notes to get you set for Game 4 of New Jersey vs New York:

Speed kills

In the first couple games of the series, the Devils spent so much time trailing – and penalty killing – that they couldn’t get to their speed game.

It’s tough to take the top off of the defense, or create off the rush, when the opposing team has every player on the ice stationed in the neutral zone creating multiple layers of defense.

Game 3 was never anything more than a one-goal game and there was nothing separating the two teams on the scoreboard for much of it. That meant the Rangers couldn’t go into as much of a defensive shell and actually had to take some chances to try and go for the win.

That played into the hands of the Devils and their speed. They were much more dangerous off the rush than in the previous two contests and were able to get behind the defense to create legitimate scoring chances.

In ~56 minutes of 5v5 play, the Devils generated 15 high-danger opportunities while conceding just five.

I would like to see them continue to play to their strengths and find ways to take advantage of their speed in G4.

Have forwards skate into pressure and accept passes posting up, so to speak. Then they can either slingshot the puck wide with speed or chip it over the top and race for loose pucks.

The Devils have a ton of speedy forwards and high-end forecheckers. They need to take advantage of that; force the defense to turn around and/or use their aggressiveness against them.

Every time the Devils make a pass there is a Ranger right on top of the receiver. If that next player can make a quick pass, or chip it into space towards a teammate attacking with speed, there should be opportunities to expose the Rangers on the flanks.

Matchups, matchups, matchups