The Rangers entered this series against the Senators with a decided advantage in playoff experience. Take that for what you will, but it's hard to argue that players who have been here before have a better understanding of what to expect as a series - and the playoffs as a whole - progress.
"I think that's super important - especially in the playoffs - that you move on quickly," said Henrik Lundqvist, who allowed just two goals in the two games at Madison Square Garden that helped the Blueshirts dig themselves out of a 2-0 series deficit. "You can't get stuck in what happened yesterday. It doesn't matter.
"It doesn't matter how you win games," Lundqvist added. "It's about getting the wins. If it's 5-0 or 1-0, you move on. You try to get a good read on the good and the bad things you did and learn from it and try and get a little bit better for the next game."
Mats Zuccarello, who had a goal and an assist in Game 3, said teams must keep emotions in check within a series to have any success in advancing.
"It's the playoffs. You can't - if you lose, you can't be sad for too long and if you win you can't be happy for too long," he said. "We all have to bring our A-Game [in Game 5] if we want a chance to steal one [on the road]. We have to do that at some point if you want to get on to the next round. Our mind is on that right now."
Vigneault said rather than focusing on what's already been done, he believes his team has done a good job all season and in the playoffs of looking ahead to the task at hand.
The bench boss said he was pleased with the way his club played in Game 2 despite the result, and that Saturday's matinee is a chance for his team to pick up where it left off.
"I do think past experience for this group is a positive thing," he said. "I feel that we've played well in Ottawa and we're going to try again tomorrow. Tomorrow is another opportunity, it's another game. We're going stay focused on the areas we need to be good at and go there and work real hard."
While Vigneault preaches keeping the focus ahead, he doesn't want his team looking beyond Saturday.
"It's part of playoff hockey," he said when asked about his team's ability to turn the page on wins and losses. "It's intense, it's emotional. You can't get caught looking ahead. You have to look at the moment."
