They went 0-for-4 on Thursday, and though their failure to score cost them the chance to steal a postseason victoryon their opponent's home ice, it was pretty much standard operating procedure for them.
Staal spent more than 17 minutes ontheice in the Rangers' 4-3 Game 3 victory, helping neutralize Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. (The Rangers trail the series, 2-1, going into Wednesday's Game 4 at home.) More, he afforded coach John Tortorella the freedom to spread out ice time among his six regular defensemen, deviating from a pattern Tortorella had fallen into during last year's playoffs.