Gerard Gallant met with the media following the Rangers win in Game Two and said (NYR, MSG):

• On the Devils scoring first, “they came out real hard and dumped a lot of pucks and forechecked real well and I thought we handled it real well, I thought the first period was an excellent period, we had lots of chances, too and they ended up leading 1-0. It was a good, even period in the first and we played real well.”

• On how the poise the team has and on the PP, “right now it looks real good, they are moving the puck and getting good scoring chances and obviously Kreider in front of the net has a great stick, he’s done that for a long time, we are finding ways to get goals and that is huge for us.”
• On Patrick Kane’s game, “he was outstanding tonight, his best game, for sure. He felt real good, had a lot of jump and getting that goal, it’s a great set of hands on him. He was definitely excited and the team played really well and he was excellent.”
• Can you see Kane getting more comfortable, “Definitely, he talked about that, I think, today. He feels good and healthy and had good jump tonight, so good for him.”
• On Chris Kreider getting deflection goals again, “I couldn’t tell you…because Fox is shooting the puck now, that is the biggest thing. Instead of giving it to Mika on the side and shooting more pucks, Kreids is getting more opportunities in front of the net. PP was good all year, but right now it’s clicking pretty good, we’re putting pucks to the net and Kreids gets a chance to chip them and then Mika is in the bumper position right now. You can change it up, those guys fill in different spots and move around, freelance a little bit, but it’s good when they are putting pucks to the net and real important for our group.”
• On only giving up two goals in two games and none at 5-on-5, “that is great, exactly what we wanted to do. The ten goals is nice, but to play the defense the way we played, Shesty played really well, but I thought our team played defensively, real, solid hockey and that is what it’s going to take in the playoffs.”
• What is the feeling having a 2-0 lead, “Well, we got a lot of work to do. It’s nice that we come out 2-0, but we know it’s far from over, being in this situation before. We gotta keep playing one game at a time.”
• How much do you rely on being down 2-0 to Carolina last year, “we’ll enjoy this one tonight, but you go back to work tomorrow and have a lot practice and get ready for the game. The series are always different, it’s far from over, they are a real good hockey team and we know that and have to play our best game back in our building on Saturday night.”