Rangers Lose Game 2 2-0, Capitals Gain 2-0 Control of Series

The New York Rangers fell behind 2-0 in their first round series against the Washington Capitals following a 2-0 defeat in Game 2.  The effort tonight was better in the first and third period than most of the game on Wednesday, but the problem is that you have to play a full 60 minutes in the playoffs if you actually want to win the games.  There is also that pesky fact of needing to score in order to win.  After generating only one goal and 25 shots in Game 1, the Rangers offense only had 22 shots and could not beat Michal Neuvirth who recorded his first career postseason shutout.  The Rangers have responded well to adversity all season and now that will be tested again as they look to hold home ice and get into the series on Sunday afternoon.  The difference between 2-1 and 3-0 in a series goes without saying and the Rangers will either put their say on this series Sunday afternoon or likely start saying their goodbyes to the 2010-11 year.

The Rangers played a good first period tonight and carried the play for much of the first 20 minutes.  The play was tough and physical, which is exactly the way the Rangers need it to be because it allowed them to establish their forecheck and hold puck possession.  They had their chances to score whether it be Erik Christensen missing from point blank range or Gaborik having a couple of good rushes in rout to his three shot first period.  The power play was still ineffective late in the first and nearly cost the Rangers a goal when Brooks Laich broke down with Mike Knuble, but Knuble fanned on the shot to end the period tied at 0-0.

Following that strong first they played an awful second period.  The Capitals came out early with a raised level and the Rangers had no answer.  Just 2:11 into the period Jason Chimera scored the first on a beautiful passing play that saw the puck move seamlessly from Laich to Johannson and then Chimera.  The key to the play was Laich beating Gilroy behind the net.

Ryan McDonagh took his second penalty of the game just 48 seconds after the Chimera goal.  The call on McDonagh was extremely weak, but that doesn’t matter once the call is made.  Good call or bad it is up to the penalty kill to kill it off and they were unable to do that on this one.  With McDonagh in the box it meant that Matt Gilroy would be on the ice during the kill and as usual the puck finds the guy who probably shouldn’t be out there.  To be fair to Gilroy the play was unlucky, but Mike Green attempted to play the puck towards the net while the Capitals were on the power play, had it deflect off Matt Gilroy and right to Jason Arnott who buried it.  The two goals in 1:53 of action gave any Rangers fan watching the sense that the lead was going to be insurmountable given how the way the offense was going.

The Rangers were useless the rest of the second and other than the Avery, Boyle, Prust line producing chances in the third period no one did anything to threaten Neuvirth.  The fact that Neuvirth only had to make nine saves in the final 40 minutes of action shows you that the Rangers never truly deserved to win the game.

Avery, Boyle and Prust generated a number of chances in the third period, which gives hope in some sense that they will eventually find the back of the net, but also is a problem when that trio is your best or only threating offensive group.  Avery was good in his 10:22 of ice time, but was not really used significantly until the third period.

Gaborik was a threat in the first period, but after that he pulled a disappearing act and was not seen from again.  He is paid to score and he was not even a threat once Washington raised their level, which does not bode well for the team if that continues.

Rangers Offensive Leaders Must Answer the Call In Game 2

The New York Rangers played well enough defensively in Game 1 to take the series lead against the Washington Capitals, but the offense did not generate nearly enough to actually get the win.  The team only managed to generate 25 shots on goal.  While those numbers are lower because of the 32 blocked shots by the Capitals defense, of the 25 that hit the net likely only a handful truly tested Neuvirth. 

Playing their system better would certainly help the Rangers if they had more puck possession and were able to get traffic in front of Neuvirth and see just how ready he is for this stage.  Beyond that though, while the entire offense struggled, this is the time of year the guys you look to are your stars to provide the offense.  For Washington both goals came from Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin while Gaborik, and Dubinsky were held off the board for the Rangers.  That cannot continue if the Rangers are going to get Game 2 tonight and return home with a split.

Marian Gaborik played with good effort and created some chances, but at this time of the year there are no moral victories and he is judged by whether he finishes his chances with goals not just how he plays. The chance he had from point blank range in front, even if in his skates, is one that a player of his talent, and the team’s offensive struggles, has to finish. 

Brandon Dubinsky simply has to be better overall.  He played an ineffective game and never had a significant impact after Alex Ovechkin delivered a big hit on Dubinsky during the first period.  It was the kind of hit that sets the tone for the series and helps to fire up the troops for the Capitals while the Rangers played a reactive game for much of the night.  Dubinsky has been one of the leaders for the Rangers all season long, in all facets of the game and they need him to be that in this series.  If the Capitals stars are going to produce for them offensively, then the Rangers need to have their best offensive weapons respond in kind.

Video: Jarret Stoll Drives Ian White Head First Into Boards, Suspension Coming?

Late in the first period of Game 1 in San Jose, Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll drove Sharks defender Ian White into the boards head first with an elbow from behind.  No penalty was called on the play, but it was clearly one where a boarding penalty should have been assessed.  White was helped off the ice wobbly and did not return to the game with what is almost certainly a concussion.  The question now is whether Stoll will be suspended for the hit?

Here's the video:


It is unclear if the NHL will suspend him for the play, but Colin Campbell and the NHL offices will certainly take a look at the hit before Game 2 and see if that supplemental discipline is warranted.  The fact that he is not a repeat offender and the genuine look of remorse from Stoll immediately after the play happened are likely to help Stoll's case, but expect him to still miss one game.

Hoping For Offensive Spark Rangers Reuinite Christensen With Gaborik, Prospal

Looking for a spark to the offense, coach John Tortorella made changes to the lines he used last night in preparation for Game 2 tomorrow night against the Capitals.  Nothing is official at this point, but the general practice for Tortorella is the lines he uses in practice are the ones he uses in games the following day.

Tinkering with the lines is certainly nothing new for Tortorella and certainly should not surprise after the team failed to generate any sense of consistent offense in Game 1. The biggest move was moving Erik Christensen from the fourth line, playing 10:54, to the top line with Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal.  Reuniting Prospal, Christensen and Gaborik is a move that Tortorella has played before this season in hopes of rekindling the magic the trio showed at times last season.  

Christensen certainly has the talent and skill to be effective in that role, but his consistency in exercising those abilities has always been the issue with him.  Right now the Rangers would try just about anything to get Marian Gaborik scoring goals, which he has not done in 10 games now.  

Artem Anisimov was moved down to the fourth line with either Mats Zuccarello/Sean Avery and Chris Drury.  Anisimov might start the game on the fourth line, but he will have opportunities early in the game to show he can be a factor during the game and potentially move up the lineup.  The other two lines were Wolski, Boyle, Prust and Stepan between Dubinsky and Fedotenko. 

Rangers Should Turn To Avery In Game 2

New York Rangers coach John Tortorella went with his gut in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Washington Capitals.  The coach played Mats Zuccarello and Matt Gilroy over Sean Avery and Steve Eminger.  One of those decisions appears to have worked, at least for the first game, but the other might need to be rectified as the series progresses. 

Despite the game lasting nearly four full periods of action Zuccarello was only the ice for a mere 7:34 of ice time, with only 3:24 coming after the first period.  If Zuccarello or Avery are going to have their minutes limited to that extent, then it should be Avery who plays.  The fear with him is over the potential for a bad penalty that will cost the team, but right now they need the energy he can bring to the lineup. 

Avery is not the player he was a few years ago and certainly does not play the same style that made him so effective when he initially came to New York, but he could still provide a boost to the lineup right now.  His ability to spark his team and get under the skin of the other team is something that playoff hockey is all about.  The playoff grind is as much a mental battle as it is a physical one and if you have a potential chip that can unnerve the opposition you have to play it.

Tortorella has to forget about the 2009 series and let Avery play as he is capable because he can be a wildcard for the Rangers in the series.  As with all wildcards they can be that in a good way for you or in a bad way that hurts you, but if you are going to nail someone to the bench during the games it should be Avery for the edge he can add and not Zuccarello who has lost confidence in his skill right now.  Zuccarello is still better off back in Hartford playing minutes crucial to his development for the future.

Rangers Drop Game 1 2-1 in OT on Semin Goal; Capitals Up 1-0 in Series

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals opened their playoff series with what wasn’t the prettiest of games, but if this is an example of how tight the series will be the fans of both teams will be on the edge of their seats.  The Capitals protected home ice with Alex Semin’s OT winner 18:24 into the first session of extra hockey.  The play saw Jason Arnott catch an attempted clear from Marc Staal at the point and then a wide open Semin in the slot who ripped a one-timer past Lundqvist high on the stick side to give Washington the 1-0 lead in the series.

New York while not playing a great game by any stretch had opportunities to win the game and steal Game 1 in Washington and have to take some measure of solace in that fact.  It tells the Rangers they can raise their game and change the result.  The Rangers grinders played well in the game, but their offensive talent failed to do anything of major note in the game.  The team fought well and proved to everyone this will be no pushover in the series. 

The problem with the loss is not just that they lost, but how.  The fact that both Ovechkin and Semin scored gives the Capitals two biggest offensive weapons confidence for the rest of the series and after both went scoreless against New York in four meetings this year now have two goals in their back pocket already.

The first period saw the Rangers badly outplayed by the home town Capitals, but Henrik Lundqvist was excellent to keep the game at 0-0.  The team took two bad penalties in the period.  The first was a too many men on the ice call that was caused when Brandon Dubinsky jumped over the boards early and the other was a weak boarding call against Mats Zuccarello.  The Rangers killed off both power plays, but were lucky during the period when both Alex Semin and Jason Arnott hit the crossbar after beating Lundqvist with their shots.  The Arnott chance came after an attempted Prust breakout pass went off the skate of Marc Staal and found Arnott alone in the slot.  Alex Ovechkin was also left open multiple times during the period, fanning once on the shot and then getting stoned by Lundqvist. 

The second period saw the Rangers play to a more equivalent level of the Capitals.  Each goaltender had a huge save in the period.  Neuvirth stoned Gaborik from the front of the net just before the midway point of the period and then late in the period Backstrom was in alone on a breakaway before Lundqvist shut him down.  The play for Backstrom was created by the Capitals stretching the Rangers defense with a breakout pass from Carlson to Ovechkin who then hit Backstrom alone in the middle of the ice.

The Rangers happiness to be tied after two periods increase dramatically just moments into the third period when Matt Gilroy scored to make it 1-0.  The play was created by Brandon Prust taking the body in the corner, working it down to Wojtek Wolski behind the net who found a pinching Gilroy and he beat Neuvirth with a snap shot far side.

Washington tied it 13:44 into the period on a goal from Alex Ovechkin.  The play saw the Capitals jam at the loose puck around the crease and while it appeared that the referee was going to blow the play dead the puck was in the net before.  The play would go to review before being confirmed as a goal.  The goal was a huge one for the Capitals who were beginning to press for the goal and the pressure would have only mounted the longer it went on.

• Brandon Dubinsky was awful tonight and must be better as one of the Rangers leaders if they are going to actually win the games instead of just contend.
• The defense played very well as a group and I was impressed with how Sauer, McDonagh and even Gilroy adjusted to the differences of playoff hockey.

Rangers Rookies Critical To Present Success, Gaining Invaluable Experience For Future

The New York Rangers have been relying on rookie NHL players all season long in different roles and Derek Stepan, Michael Sauer, and Ryan McDonagh have answered the call at each turn.  The trio has acquitted themselves so well that they have been continually given increasingly important roles within the team.  At no time this season have any of the three seemed to have the moment be bigger than them and that bodes very well for them in this transition from playing in the intensity of the stretch drive versus the reality of playoff hockey.  Tonight begins that test of their current level of readiness, and the Rangers will need all three to maintain their high level of the regular season if they have hope of winning this series.

Derek Stepan started the season as the most heralded of these three rookies and he did not disappoint turning in a rookie campaign of 21-24 which had him tied for fourth on the team in goals and fourth alone in points.  With that kind of standing in the main offensive categories and without Ryan Callahan there will be a considerable burden on Stepan to continue to provide offense for the club during the series.

As big as the burden will be on Stepan, Sauer and McDonagh are the ones who will likely have more to say about the overall outcome of the proceedings.  Sauer had a tremendous overall rookie campaign in which he played his solid defensive style while adding some physicality and snarl to the tune of a plus 20 rating for the year.  McDonagh did not get the call until midseason but other than a few hiccup games he played tremendously well since his debut chipping in one goal, eight assists and playing plus 16 hockey in his 40 games as a rookie.

This pairing has been stellar since being put together and for much of the second half has been the Rangers best defensive duo and the combination of their ice time and role to shut down the second line of the Washington Capitals makes them critical to any success the Rangers are going to have. 

In addition to those three, Mats Zuccarello will be another rookie the Rangers are hopeful to get contributions from during the series.  Coach John Tortorella has opted to play Zuccarello in game one over veteran Sean Avery because of the potential upside of Zuke offensively and avoiding any potential penalty downside with Avery.  Zuccarello excelled in the shootout in the regular season, but there are none of those in playoff hockey.  He was very good early in his time with the Rangers, but tailed off late to the point he was on the fourth line and finally sent down to the minors.  He was recalled for the finale and played well in limited to minutes so it is tough to expect much of an impact from him in series based on his limited opportunities.

All of these players have played in big games before in their careers, but nothing truly prepares you for NHL playoff hockey other than being in the games themselves and that is the challenge all of these rookies are going to have deal with.  The Rangers have said all along that this year is about building for the future and all four of these players are going to gain invaluable experience for their futures with each second of playoff hockey they play right now.  The Rangers want these guys to prepare for the future, but they also have to rely on them now.