​“It’s that simple” Rangers Coach Vigneault only needs one thing to beat Ottawa

And that’s for his team to step up the way they did in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault spoke with the media on Wednesday before Game 1 of the Second-Round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Ottawa Senators.

Unlike in their previous series against the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Rangers are now considered the favorites to take the series against the Senators. Vigneault knows that his team can’t become complacent, they need to continue to raise their game if they want to advance.

“I really believe at the end of the day, we had some guys play well against Montreal, but there’s another level to find here,” says Vigneault, “Another level of compete and another level of making plays on the ice that we need to find to be able to beat Ottawa. It’s that simple.”

The coaching matchup will be just as important as the players on the ice in this series, Vigneault will need to find a way through Ottawa’s defense-first approach. It won’t bet he run-and-gun matchup that transpired in the first round against the Canadiens.

At this point both teams know who they’re playing against and how they think they can beat them. Now it’s all about execution and focus under pressure, according to Vigneault:

“Coaches throw things out there. At the end of the day, players from both sides, the white noise that’s out there, when it comes time to play you don’t hear it. You just play”.

Game 1 of the Senators second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the New York Rangers will be played Thursday, April 27^th in Ottawa.