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| Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images |
The Rangers can talk about the chances and how close they
came both at the end of the first and the end of the game, but the reality is
this team has blown five prime points in their last three games by getting
complacent in their play. Good teams,
playoff teams, beat the teams they are supposed to beat and take every game
with a sense of seriousness and urgency to not let inferior teams hang
around. The Rangers have failed to do
that in each of the last three games and only have one point as a result.
There is no doubt that on this night the blame starts in net
with Henrik Lundqvist. Fact of the
matter is that he simply was not good enough tonight and his coach said so after the game. Those who will seek to
use a performance like this to bring up nonsense like Henrik is garbage and the
Rangers should trade him are morons and not fans of the team. Plain and simple it was a bad night and
everyone is going to have them. The key
for the Rangers is to hae it stop right here because they are going nowhere
without Lundqvist at the top of his game.
If there is a bright spot to take from this game it is
clearly the play of Vinny Prospal. For a
guy who has missed the entire season to this point, Vinny played like he was at
full speed in this one. There was some
rust, but that was to be expected. What
I did not expect was for Prospal to be able to go through the whole game with
the kind of impact he had tonight as for me he was clearly the Rangers best
forward in the game. We will find out
tomorrow if the game for Prospal was the adrenaline of being back or it was
something he can build on, but on this night he was clearly the positive note. The celebration after his goal was pure
Prospal and the kind of enthusiasm this team could use more of.
Details of the game below.
The start was certainly not what the Rangers wanted as just
1:04 into the game Ilya Kovalchuk had his shot deflect off the knee of Michael
Sauer and beat Henrik Lundqvist high glove.
The goal while great placement is one of those Henrik would love to have
back and he went down way too soon on the play.
A few minutes later Vinny
Prospal had a golden chance in front as the puck came right to him, but being
rusty he rushed and slide the backhander wide to the far post. Other than that the Rangers best chances came
late in the period, when on the power play they got multiple shots through from
the point and Brandon Dubinsky ended up with a wide open net, but he would backhand a shot off the crossbar.
The second period was
no better for the Rangers All-Star netminder.
Just over eight minutes into the period Henrik would have a Zubrus shot
in the slot trickles through his pads.
Dan Girardi would try to save the puck from going in as he swiped it off
the goal line, but it would bounce off Lundqvist’s back and in the net. The night would end for Henrik after giving up
a third goal to Brian Rolston just over 15 minutes into the period.
The Rangers would get one back in the
second when Ryan Callahan would score a goal very similar to Kovalchuk’s in
which Brodeur went down too early and got beat top corner, short side. Prospal would get his goal from a bad angle
shot 2:11 into the third while the Rangers were on a 5-on-3. The team would have chances after that, but
the combination of bad plays and failure to capitalize on opportunities would
leave them a goal short.
It would take another third period
comeback to salvage points in this one and for some reason I did not see it
happening tonight. I said before the
third that the team would get within one, have chances to tie but like Montreal
and Philly fail to ever get it. Unfortunately I was right. The Rangers will look to rebound from
this funky play on Saturday in Montreal, which has been a house of horrors for
them.
- Dubinsky is either really rusty right now or hurt and fighting it as he has horrific finishing the last two games
- Gaborik had flashes, but still no real results
- Brian Boyle was as invisible as I can remember this season
- Michael Del Zotto needs to go down the AHL and stay there NOW
- Gilroy is in the PP doghouse for some reason
