Rangers' playoff newcomers gear up for Saturday's Game 2 - New York Daily News

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Rangers' playoff newcomers gear up for Saturday's Game 2 - New York Daily News Apr 14th 2012, 03:44 Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images Ryan McDonagh (27) is one of several key Rangers making up for lack of playoff seasoning. It was difficult to identify which Rangers lacked playoff experience during Thursday night's 4-2 Game 1 win over the Senators, since none of them played like it. Ryan McDonagh, the 21-year-old top-pair defenseman playing in his sixth career postseason game, set the tone of how New York's youngsters would handle the atmosphere and adversity, combining with All-Star Dan Girardi to help shut down the Senators for the first 50 minutes at the Garden. "Whether it was your first game, sixth game or 10th game, I don't think that affected any of our guys as far as our nerves," John Tortorella said after Friday's off-day practice in Greenburgh. "I thought they just went out and played." Going into Saturday night's Game 2, the Rangers are aware their 1-0 series lead is due in large part to the poise of their greenest go-to guys. Four Blueshirts made their NHL playoff debuts in Game 1, including the active Carl Hagelin (two assists) and Anton Stralman (one assist), while five others had no more than six postseason appearances under their belts, including Artem Anisimov (two assists), Brian Boyle (game-winning goal) and McDonagh. The young defenseman said last year's five-game series against the Capitals made a "huge" difference in his preparation for Thursday, "knowing what it takes to be a playoff-contending team and how to be an effective player in the playoffs." Perhaps more significantly, though, McDonagh is not overwhelmed by his postseason responsibilities because he felt a similar pressure for 82 games this season. He was counted on as Marc Staal's replacement when the All-Star missed the first 36 games due to concussion symptoms, then stuck with Girardi even when Staal returned to the lineup. "I was trying to get accustomed to it, and obviously with my role and time increasing this year, you get in a rhythm and you gain confidence," said McDonagh, who blocked three shots in 25:04 of ice time. "You feel good about where you're at as a team, and you just build on it." An even greener defenseman, Michael Del Zotto, made his playoff debut Thursday and played strong on the puck in his own zone, one year after not even making the Rangers' playoff roster as a rookie. "Things are a lot more magnified when you get into playoffs, but you don't want to change your game," Del Zotto said. "You want to do everything that's gotten you here." The youngsters' calm approach is a reflection of the Rangers' levelheadedness following their series-opening win. The Rangers are out to protect their home-ice advantage with a second win Saturday night before traveling to Canada. "We definitely want to go into Ottawa up 2-0," said forward Brandon Prust, who played his sixth playoff game on Thursday. "Thats the plan." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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