The New York Rangers have their backs against the wall heading into Game 4, as they are down in the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1. How will Monday’s game shape up? Check out our preview below of this Rangers vs. Penguins 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs game.
For the most part in the regular season, the Rangers were largely carried by their elite defense, as they arguably have the best goalie in the game today. It’s been a different story though for the Rangers in the playoffs, with netminder Igor Shesterkin surprisingly having a hard time doing his job. Shesterkin was pulled in Game 3 after giving up four goals right in the very first period. Despite that horrible performance, though, the Rangers will have the Vezina Trophy-favorite start anew in Game 4. New York would likely not have even made the playoffs if not for Shesterkin, who was a major reason why the Rangers finished the regular season second overall with a .930 saves percentage and fifth with a 101.0 PDO on 5-on-5 situations.
The Rangers are 8-2 in their last 10 games after losing in a contest in which they gave up at least 3 goals.
The Penguins didn’t even have their top two goalies in Game 3 but with the way their offense was working, having a third-string goalie on the ice barely mattered to them. Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith were out with injuries in that game, leaving the netminding task to Louis Domingue, who stopped 32 of 36 shots in the contest. Domingue is likely to start anew in Game 4, with Jarry still not 100% and DeSmith out for the remainder of the playoffs after going under the knife to repair an upper-body injury. But as long as the Pens’ offense is humming, Domingue will have the confidence in his ability to handle the struggling Rangers. So far, the Penguins are outshooting New York, coming up with a 54.8 CF% through three games. They are also having success on the man advantage, with three 3 power-play goals on 9 chances, thus far.
