Blue Notes

Staple here, Zip in Pittsburgh, game a few minutes away... As Zip has noted, Lauri Korpikoski makes his playoff debut and Jason Strudwick stays on D in place of Christian Backman. Rangers have to stay out of the penalty box early, because the Pens will have a rabid crowd and a desire to put this one away early.

Trotting out the new live blog today... Keep the comments coming, but keep 'em clean.

2:01

NBC broadcast about to begin after watching Orel Hershiser play poker... Interesting. Game is a few minutes away.

2:18

Sorry, gang, some technical difficulties at HQ over here... Luckily, this was apparently a 2:30 start and no one told us. Off we go!

2:21

Good start there with a neutral zone turnover and two quick shots.

2:24

Exactly what the Rangers didn't want: Malkin's line matched with the Strudwick-Mara D pair. Good control in the Rangers zone, and an alert play by Lundqvist to stop the bank-shot try by Ryan Malone off Strudwick.

2:27

Both teams settling down a little. If Drury were a little bigger, he would've been whistled for obstructing Georges Laraque for sure. Pens are getting set up in the Rangers' zone well, though.

2:30

Jagr forced to play some D there and a fairly weak hooking call on No. 68... Rangers' PK has to be huge here.

2:34

Good anticipation by Lundqvist both on Malkin's one-timer and Malone's wrap try. Malone could've done more with that.

2:36
Nice shot by Korpikoski on his second shift. Kid knows you've got to throw pucks on net here, especially since the Rangers hadn't had a shot in several minutes.

2:42

Rangers' forwards are making sure to collapse down when Malkin or Crosby has the puck below the goal line. Each of them set up a goal that way in Game 1. And Ruutu took a dumb one there, taking his hand off the stick to grab Jagr. Borderline, but Ruutu doesn't get the benefit of the doubt.

2:45

Staal on the PP unit with Girardi, as Renney had in Game 4. Still don't love Girardi, and his confidence to shoot is iffy after making two gaffes to set up breakaways last game.

2:46

Ugly PP, and the Pens have the momentum with some chances at the close of their PK... See what happens out of this TV timeout.

2:50

Maybe some more frustration from the kid stars? Malkin takes a bone-headed penalty. Even if the Rangers' PP stinks, they're keeping the big guns of Pitt off the ice.

2:52

One of the biggest problems: Rangers don't have the D to manuever the PP from the top. They're not deft stick-handlers, so this is the result. And Dawes flipped one wide after the PP ended, wide open net. Rangers have now kept the Pens scoreless for four straight periods.

3:07

Couple minutes away from the second... Malkin and Crosby have made some plays, and the Pens are due for a PP opportunity, which would seem to be the way they're going to get on the board. If the Rangers can continue to frustrate the kid stars, Lundqvist especially, the Rangers can afford to be patient 5-on-5. Rangers PP needs an overhaul though.

3:13

Marian Hossa is a very good player, but seriously: If he'd buried half his chances this series, it'd be over already. Great play from Dupuis and Crosby, no finish from Hossa. And a great chance generated by Malkin there, and Drury is bloodied by Malone, with no call. Odd.

3:17

Amazing that they're chipping blood off the ice and not even a conference between the four officials. Pens taking advantage of Drury being out on faceoffs, Malkin misses a golden one there.

3:18

Here's the PP try for Pitt, with Jagr in for an offensive-zone trip of Malone. Bad play by the captain.

3:20

Great kill by the Rangers, and now they'll get the PP after a terrific effort by Strudwick draws a pretty weak slash call on Laraque. Good play with the extra attacker, maybe some momentum for the third PP.

3:25

Rangers probably wanted the penalty shot there with Malkin outworking Rozsival for the puck going on. Malkin doesn't like breakaways, remember? Another Pens PP, their third, and the Rangers PK (minus Drury, still getting stitched up) needs another huge kill.

3:27

Drury's back, the puck gets out of the zone right off the faceoff.

3:29

There it is. Too much scramble by the PK, with Hossa's great diving play (and Shanahan's ill-advised decision to try and rush out of the zone before the puck) keeping the puck in and Hossa burying a gimme from Malkin and Crosby... And Rozsival goes off again for a terrible decision to clearly pitch-fork Kennedy. Time out here?

3:33

Crucial kill if the Rangers have any chance of rallying. Only 1-0, but Pens have life after being shut down for over 100 minutes. Jagr needs a big shift here to get some offense going.

3:36

Lundqvist is doing his part, as is the goal post, which Crosby hits in tight. Rangers are being overwhelmed here.

3:38

Time to turn out the lights. Malkin just bulled Mara out of the way and rips a backhand behind Lundqvist. The kid stars of Pitt are no longer frustrated, and there is no stopping them today.

3:40

Another PP drawn by Jagr, but Tyutin and Girardi still at the points... Renney needs offense and puck movement, not caution anymore.

3:48

Penguins back on the PP courtesy of Rozsival, who is not making a good case for being re-signed. Rangers look gassed, mentally and physically, and Jagr is distracted by Ruutu and diving like he accused Crosby of doing.

3:51

Twenty minutes left in the Rangers' season... They are not the kind of team that can turn it around in such a short space of time here. Pressing will only lead to turnovers, and patience will only lead to soft wrist shots from the point that sail wide. Rangers fought hard, but it was the Penguins' power play, as predicted, that turned things around.

4:10

There's some fresh legs, and some life for the Rangers. Great rush by the kid, great shot, and a terribly passive play by Ryan Whitney to let Korpikoski get to the puck and fire it. Just what the Rangers needed. 2-1 Pitt.

4:14

Wow... Just, wow. Dawes makes his patented shootout move, between Fleury's legs, and the Rangers with two goals in less than 90 seconds by rookies ties the game. Didn't see this coming, eh?

4:19

Been a relentless six minutes before that stoppage... What a save by Lundqvist on Hossa on the doorstep. Mellon Arena seems awfully quiet now. Live blog is experiencing some technical difficulties -- maybe because it's so darn popular -- but I'm working on it!

4:25

Looks like the refs have put the whistles away, so this one will be won by effort. Right now, Rangers are winning that battle.

4:33

Another rare stoppage after a great drive to the net by Dawes and Callahan. Korpikoski with a brilliant rush earlier than ended with Tyutin missing the net as the trailer. Pens have gotten some play in the Rangers zone, but not with the speed they had in the second. Under three minutes left and the pace is fast, but determined, and the Rangers' young guys are driving the bus here, amazingly.

4:38

And the luck is not on the Rangers side today... Drury, cut by Malone earlier with no call, gets whistled for a 4-minute high stick when he cuts a Penguin I couldn't see on the bench. Even without a goal here in the final minute, Pens will start OT with a 2:41 PP... What a comeback, but the Rangers have to just fire pucks out to stave off the initial OT push by the Pens on the PP.

4:48

Sorry, gang, the new, exciting live blog is killing my computer... For OT, we'll stick with this. If the Rangers win, tomorrow night will be problem-free. For a lot of reasons, I'd say.

Predictions on the OT winner? Malkin or Crosby or Hossa for Pitt? Jagr, Gomez, Korpikoski for the Rangers? Who'd have thought I'd be typing Korpikoski? Desperation does some strange things.

4:57

Why would Marc Staal pass that shot up? Egad.

4:59

Huge, huge kill... But the Pens have the jump. Kennedy racing all over the zone, and the Rangers' D is tired. Big save by Lundqvist on Ruutu.

5:04

And that's all, folks... Crosby was out on that shift a while, but had the extra burst to get it into the zone past a tired Rangers' forward line, and the puck ricocheted right to Hossa, who buried it. Pens win the series, 4-1, even with a valiant comeback. The offseason begins now.

Hey Rangers fans, Mike Casey back again for Game 4.

Take a deep breath. It's not over yet. The Rangers finally unlocked the secret to beating the Penguins in Game 3, they just couldn't sustain it.

To read the complete blog, click the link below...

Welcome to Game 3. Mike Casey here to take you through the highs and lows of tonight's must-win game for the Rangers.

You can follow along with by-the-minute updates by clicking on the link below.

4:43

Scuderi skips one off the boards and in with 16.7 left for a 2-0 Pens win and series lead. Renney gets poor marks for not using his time out before the PP, and then not putting at least one forward at the point when Lundqvist came off. Tyutin and Girardi aren't the puck-movers.

So, the Rangers have gone from three goals up midway through Game 1 to a two-game deficit heading home on Tuesday.

This was not a terrible game for the Rangers, neither was Game 1. But their defensemen are getting outworked and outhustled by the Pens forwards -- not just Crosby and Malkin, but Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy and Adam Hall.

Oh, and Avery got in some nonsense there, exchanging whacks with Fleury and then having Gill and Laraque smother him... Doubt that'll matter much on Tuesday, unless the Pens are coasting.

4:37

And there's another break for the Rangers. Gill squashes Avery, but I'm pretty sure Avery was already rubbing pads with Fleury. If the Rangers lose this one, or at least fail to tie, no one to blame but themselves with two power plays in the final six minutes. Should end up being a 6-on-4 at some point with Lundqvist pulled in a minute or so.

4:35

Not a break, there, obviously. Fleury never had full control, and the puck was skittering behind his pads when O'Halloran blew it dead. Power play didn't generate much, once again. Reminiscent of the standing-around drought the Rangers had late in the season.

4:30

May be the break the Rangers need -- Sykora clips Girardi with the high stick right in front of an official. Girardi lifted the stick initially, but there's the call nonetheless.

4:24

Bad job in the defensive zone by Gomez's line, with Backman and Mara. Rangers' D looks weary, especially in the offensive zone, where they're trying to make plays instead of trying to shoot pucks.

4:19

Well, shows you how good a coach I'd be -- Gomez uses some open ice and lax PP play by the Pens to generate a couple chances and some confidence, which carries over to Jagr's line on the first shift at even strength. Jagr had the puck alone in front for a split second, but couldn't go backhand-forehand fast enough.

4:15

Bad turnover in the neutral zone leads to a quick transition and another Pens PP, with Betts rightly called for a slash on Kennedy. Rangers would be best served by not doing too much except dumping it out to stay within a goal.

4:12

Solid kill, but the Rangers were looking sluggish before that. Good shift from Jagr's group, has to continue.

4:08

Accidental play by Girardi, but bank on the Pens going for the kill on this PP.

9:38

The right post preserves the win for the Pens. Jagr fluttered one off the pipe, 5-4 Pens, 1-0 in the series. Excellent job by the Pens to rally from three down, some breakdowns by the Rangers, some bad bounces, and ice that makes the MSG ice during circus week look like a clean sheet in downtown Edmonton in December.

Back with you Sunday for Game 2. Is Crosby still a whiner/diver? Does he get preferential treatment? Wonder if that'll be brought up after this one

9:36

Rangers net is empty, assuming they'll use the timeout here. And apparently the Penguins official scorer left his seeing-eye dog at home, because the goal was given to Crosby. And I'm not quite sure that goal should count, but the rules keep changing on those.

9:33

Hold. The. Phone. Malkin clearly turned his left leg, which is the leg the puck went in off.... But it counts.

9:32

But there it is, a big drive by Crosby with some space, and it hits Malkin in the leg and goes in. Third puck off something other than a stick behind Lundqvist. 1:41 left.

9:31

Did Girardi block that with his face? Sheesh. Another lucky play, with everyone overplaying Crosby.

9:29

There's the PP for the Pens, with Straka getting the interference call after Gomez fanned on the shot from the point. 3:20 left... And what a surprise! Crosby was the one who stumbled to draw the call!

9:26

Rangers cycling all four lines, Pens really only mixing in either their third or fourth line behind the top two... Could make a difference down these final minutes.

9:23

Now it's a matter of who blinks first, system-wise. First breakdown loses it.

9:19

What a save by Lundqvist on Crosby -- how do the Rangers leave him all alone in front? And Tytuin with another beautiful hip check along the boards... Gomez line is having serious problems in its own zone. Michel Therrien wants Crosby out there against Gomez every time.

9:17

And looky looky... Great play by Jagr, and not such a great play by Sid to pick up the trailer, Gomez, with a perfect shot over Fleury. 4-4, 9:56 left. Rangers just do not enjoy trailing in these playoffs.

9:11

Decent shift by the fourth line to press a faceoff in the Pens zone. The ice has got to be absolute slush by now, so it'll be all about forechecking and pinching rather than using speed.

Pens can play some D too.

9:09

Bad mistake by Gomez's line, with the turnover pinning all three forwards deep. Great play in tight by Malkin to Sykora for the slam dunk, and it takes 20 seconds this time for Pittsburgh to take the lead, 4-3. Rangers needed to be patient, and they weren't, right after another bank-shot goal.

They need their own luck to turn this around.

9:07

Hossa had been whiffing on a bunch of chances set up by Crosby, but he ties it by banking a blind shot off either Girardi or Gomez. 15:20 left, all square.

9:02

Crosby creates a ridiculous chance for Dupuis, with both Rangers D going to the corner and Dupuis all alone in front. Looked like he wanted to skate to the side or something. Very bad breakdown for the Rangers in the first 90 seconds of the third.

9:58

And there's the game, with Dubinsky roofing an empty-netter with 59.1 to go. 5-3 Rangers, 4-1 series win. Rangers got stronger on the puck over the final three minutes, with Callahan and Dawes ragging a full minute behind the Devils net.

Nice rally by the Devils, who looked defeated when it was 4-1. But the better team won this series. I'll turn you back over to Zip for the days between now and the next series. Good night from Newark!

9:53

Rangers getting some counter plays, Gomez barely misses on a 2-on-1. Now 3:11 left and the Devils look a bit gassed from the effort the last 20-plus minutes.

9:50

Loud, sustained "Let's Go Rangers" chant from behind Brodeur, who made a nice stop on a blast by Drury. 5:54 left.

9:47

OK, that penalty shot save is probably a little bigger. Initially thought it was a questionable penalty-shot call when Girardi took down Madden, but the replay won me over.

Madden tries to slide the puck between Lundqvist's pads, but he didn't hit the hole with his shot. 6:36 left in the third, Devils are gunning for the tie and getting closer.

9:45

Great blocker save by Lundqvist on Gionta from the left circle. Save of the game thus far. Gionta looks skyward afterwards.

9:41

Rangers get their first scoring chance, with Avery hustling to beat Salvador wide but missing the net. 10:12 left and it's still a lot of chipping the puck out, chipping the puck in and hoping for the Rangers. Not much counterattacking.

9:39

Good shot by Zajac and a tough arm save by Lundqvist... Over 8 minutes in, 5-0 Devils in shots and the Rangers are scrambling plenty. It looks like one long power play for Jersey.

9:35

Devils have carried the play still, 5:17 in. No shots for the Rangers yet.

9:29

Good start to the third for the Devils. Paul Martin gets off a good shot after some sloppy Rangers play down low, good save by Lundqvist.

Greetings, Blue Notes fans. Mike Casey here, live at MSG for the pivotal Game 4 of the Rangers-Devils opening round series.

I'll be bringing you updates and observations throughout the game. Click below to see the updates as I type them.

10:07

And that's it -- Dubinsky beats Madden on a draw again, but Madden banks the puck off Lundqvist from below the goal line and in. New series, gang.

9:59

Great stop and go move by Gionta, and his shot rings off the post. Devils want this one... And Lundqvist somehow stops Elias on the doorstep a few seconds later.

9:57

And after I ripped the Devils for creating nothing, the Elias-Langenbrunner-Parise line gets off to a good start in OT, with a good cycle and pressure. Devils know they have to have this one, so maybe the urgency is setting in.

9:56

That's it, 2-1 Rangers, they barely hang on. Langenbrunner gets the goat horns, because the Devils looked solid there at the end. 2-0 Rangers in the series headed back to the city.

9:53

Madden wins another, but this one is aided -- Langenbrunner hooks Drury and gets called. Blair Betts appears to obstruct Martin with no call, and Sutter is going bonkers, banging a stick on the boards.

9:52

Another faceoff win by Madden over Drury, and Martin's wrist shot nearly beats Lundqvist glove side. Tom Renney calls a time out with 56.3 left. Assistant Mike Pelino is drawing up a play to get the puck out of the zone, but they need to win a faceoff first to do that.

9:50

Hold the phone, folks. Couple of faceoff wins by Madden and the Devils are back in it, with Madden redirecting an Elias shot. 2-1, 1:23 left. Rangers were doing a lot of standing around with the Devils on the extra attacker set there.

9:46

Rangers holding the fort -- excellent backcheck by Dawes earlier to prevent a Devil from pouncing on a rebound. Just about two minutes left, Rangers have 17 third-period shots. Brodeur to the bench.

9:41

Just 5:59 left and the Rangers haven't had much to concern them since taking the two-goal lead... Scoring or stupid stuff. Still time for both, I suppose. It's now 12-1 Rangers in third-period goals against the Devils this season, by the by.

9:37

Big pileup in front of Lundqvist is under review... Gionta got a pretty good swipe from his knees and the puck disappears under the crossbar, but the overhead slo-mo doesn't seem conclusive. And it's no goal. The schneid continues for the Devils.

9:34

Devils aren't even winning the physical battles. Dubinsky lays out White not once, but twice. White will come back looking for a scalp before this one's over. Devils are playing like a beaten team.

9:30

Good 3 on 2 rush by the Jagr line, and that's going to be the story of the last 9:57 if the Devils have any shot. They're not used to pressing for goals, so this could get ugly on the scoreboard and then even uglier with the spirited, after-whistle bouts of skanko-roman wrestling.

9:25

Brodeur makes a couple nice saves to keep it 2-0, but the Devils are shell-shocked. Twenty-three seconds apart. Really unforgivable was White's bumping Brodeur coming around the net. No Ranger near him, and all you need is one little mistake for someone like Jagr, who is the Minnesota Fats of the NHL -- he banks his shots in from anywhere.

As for Avery... The guy has goals in both games, likely the clinchers, too. He may be in the Devils' heads as much as Lundqvist.

9:21

Hoo boy, the Devils are in trouble. Point shot by Girardi is blocked, and Avery absolutely rips one through a screen. 2-0 within a minute, and the "home" crowd is chanting, "Mar-ty!" Ouch.

9:20

And there's the break. Jagr comes around the net without much pressure from White or Madden, and White makes the biggest play by bumping Brodeur off the post, which lets Jagr bank the shot off Brodeur's back. 1-0 Rangers.

9:19

And there's a good chance. Backman goes high and Brodeur grabs the shot with his glove. Excellent grit work by the Rangers' fourth line.

9:12

Third period starts with Devs on 1:32 of PP time... As I said, the nastiness may tone down in favor of some actual attempts to score. Been a while since the Rangers tested Brodeur.

But the messages will be sent for the rest of the series. In the words of the noted philosopher Plaxico Burress: "This ain't badminton."

9:25

Empty-netter for Dawes, generously given him by Shanahan. 4-1 final, and a surprising third period. Brodeur has to answer for that giveaway on Callahan's winner.

9:20

Think Gomez may be a little jacked up for this series... Terrific patience on that rush after a nice play by Freddy Sjostrom in the neutral zone. Gomez holds, draws three Devils and Brodeur, and sneaks a pass to Avery coming in for the finisher. 3-1 Rangers, say good night.

9:16

Ah, gotta love McCreary -- Brandon Dubinsky gets knocked down, his stick comes up, Langenbrunner feigns his throat being slashed and McCreary, not watching, puts the arm up. Huge kill for the Rangers.

9:11

Just 7:19 left and the Devils are trying to make something happen. The Elias-Parise-Langenbrunner line controlled the zone well, but no shots got through. Rangers can clamp down on a one-goal lead with the best of them.

Jagr on the bench after getting cut when the puck deflected up off Salvador and caught him in the face.

9:03

And... Whoops! Brodeur gets caught nonchalant with the puck at the end of the Devils PP, and Ryan Callahan whips around from behind the net to stuff it in. 2-1 Rangers, a SHG, and a real momentum-changer. It was the Rangers' second shot of the period, both short-handed, and a terrible, terrible mistake by Brodeur.

A younger goaltender might crumble after that. We'll see how Marty responds.

9:00

Devils carrying the play at the start of the third, and it results in a PP when Michael Rozsival hangs onto Elias' stick behind the net. Devils are outshooting the Rangers 8-0 heading into the PP chance.