Rangers Stay Alive with Win Over Devils; Time to Root for the Lightning

The fate of the New York Rangers’ season is now in the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. With their backs to the wall, the Rangers needed to win this afternoon over the New Jersey Devils, or their season was over. They would accomplish that, with a 5-2 victory, but unfortunately, whether or not they make the playoffs rests with the Stamkos-led Lightning, when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in Raleigh. The Rangers did all they could do today, which was win, and will now sit and watch the scoreboard to see whether or not they will make it to the postseason.

• First period: The Rangers got off on the wrong foot when they allowed an early goal, originally credited to Ilya Kovalchuk, before it was changed to Nick Palmieri. The Blueshirts could have folded right there, but instead, they got a much-needed goal from an unlikely source, Chris Drury (1), who returned to score his first goal of the season and first in 25 games, dating back to a year ago today. The Rangers continued to play well, before being deflated by a late goal by Kovalchuk, to trail 2-1.

• Second period: It was in the middle frame that it seemed the Rangers decided that they were not going to take a loss for an answer this afternoon. Wojtek Wolski (12) scored less than two minutes in on assists from Fedotenko and Sauer to tie the game. Ten minutes later, Ryan McDonagh (1) would score his first career goal, in this, his 40th game of the season. He would cap off a fantastic rookie campaign, that will also see him finish with a +16 rating. With Prospal waiting behind the net, Gaborik fed him the pass and he was able to find the open rookie inside the circle, who shot it over the shoulder of Martin Brodeur. In scoring that goal, McDonagh now becomes part of a trio of Rangers’ defenseman, including Matt Gilroy and Marc Staal, who scored their first NHL goal against Brodeur. Four minutes later, the Rangers would jump ahead by two, when Brandon Prust (13) knocked home a loose puck after it was shot to the net by Brandon Dubinsky. The Rangers headed into the third with a 4-2 lead.

• Third period: The Rangers were 28-0-0 on the season when taking a lead into the last period, and thanks to some good offensive pressure and a defense that kept the Devils to only seven shots, the Rangers could tack on one more win to that stat. It was a relatively calm period, and the Rangers were in charge the whole time, and when Vinny Prospal (9) scored on a 2-on-1 with Artem Anisimov midway through, that sealed the deal.

Feelings are still bittersweet at the moment, because as happy as us fans want to feel about a great win over the Devils on the final day of the season, it might all be for naught if the surging Hurricanes keep on flying tonight. The Rangers, who never seem to play well in day games, played an excellent and intense one today, and did everything they needed to do to at least have a chance tonight.

With the exception of the Devils’ second goal, Lundqvist was solid, and stopped what he needed to in order to give his team a chance to win in what became his 26th consecutive start. Chris Drury also came through in the clutch today, scoring in his first game back from yet another injury stint. It truly is amazing how injuries work, and how Drury happened to be ready just as Callahan broke his ankle. It really makes one wonder if Drury wasn’t ready for longer than what was let on, and just kept on the back-burner because he was not needed. I don’t want to yell conspiracy here, but it’s just very odd.

We will now all hold our breath to later tonight, where we will find out if the Rangers will be advancing. I will not say “Goodbye” just yet, to all my Rangers readers, because I will be putting up something tonight once we learn of the outcome. Until then, just try to relax and have some fun during crunch time. I know it will be stressful, but it is out of our hands. All we can do is wait.

If the New York Rangers Miss the Playoffs, It Is Their Own Fault

These last few days have provided horrific flashbacks to last season for fans of the New York Rangers, because just like last year, the Rangers had their fate in their own hands. In game 81, the Rangers needed to win the two final games of the season, both against the Philadelphia Flyers, and they were able to accomplish only half of that. With their final home game just two days before the season finale, the Rangers came through in the clutch, with a hard-fought 4-3 win that had Madison Square Garden rocking, giving a resounding cheer for the Blueshirts who then had to travel to the City of Brotherly Love to clinch a playoff berth. The scorer of the game-winning goal? Marian Gaborik, capping off a fantastic debut season on Broadway. Then the last day came, and after another well-played game that headed to a shootout, the entire Rangers’ season rested on the shoulders of Olli Jokinen, who flubbed the chance, and sent them home packing, without a playoff appearance for the first time since the lockout. Two games were all they had, two wins were all they needed.

This season, the Rangers had three games remaining, and found themselves trailing the Boston Bruins 3-0 in the second period of a game on April 4th. The crowd booed, and rightly so, but then the Rangers woke up, and scored five unanswered goals against one of the best defensive teams in the NHL to keep the season alive, but not only that, to keep it in their hands. This is more important than anything, because when you have control of your fate, all you have to do, as a team, is win. You do not have to scoreboard watch or hope for help from others. Unfortunately, last night, the Rangers ruined those chances against the 11th place Atlanta Thrashers. All they needed was a win, to get two points, and they failed miserably. There was no aggressive forecheck, no glaring scoring chances, just all around stagnant play. When the Thrashers exited the building with a 3-0 win, you can be sure that visions of last season were floating around the locker room. There is only one difference: the Rangers are not in control of their fate anymore.

Should the Carolina Hurricanes win their next two games in regulation, the Rangers season is over, even if they win tomorrow afternoon against the New Jersey Devils. There are also a bunch of other scenarios, but I will not waste time going into them because all of it should have been for naught anyway. There was no reason for this, the Rangers needed to win last night, and they failed. Just like last season, coming 0ff their biggest win of the season, they fell flat, and that will cost them.

There is no place to direct anger at, if the Rangers fall short, other than the team itself. Part of me says not to get angry, because this is a rebuilding year. The other part of me says, this team was in playoff contention all year long, has the highest paid goaltender in the league, and another $7 million goal scorer, so of course I will be angry if they come up short.

Just think, what if Lundqvist had not let in a slew of soft goals early in the season? What if Alex Frolov actually produced after signing here? What if Vinny Prospal wasn’t injured for most of the season? What if Martin Biron did not suffer a late-season practice injury? What if Sean Avery was just half as good as he was a couple of seasons ago? What if Marian Gaborik actually played like he gives a shit?

That is probably the most important of these “What if?” questions, and that is what happened to Marian Gaborik? He goes through months of being invisible, has a big game and gets everyone excited, only to disappear again. Well, Marian the Magnificent has now gone eight straight games without scoring a goal, and he only has 22 in 61 games, which equates to about a goal every three games, as opposed to last season when he averaged a goal per less than every two games. It might not seem like much, but in the long-run, they add up. It is one thing to slump, but it is another to just fall off the map and not care, which is where Gaborik is right now—skating around in circles, shooting from the perimeter, and just coasting. On the bright side, he may be due for an explosion tomorrow, since that’s what he does. After all, he hasn’t scored since March 20.

The Rangers powerplay is also to blame, even with the acquisition of Bryan McCabe who has only two goals and six assists in 18 games. After seeing him QB the powerplay, I am convinced that he is not the problem. He is not a bad player, in fact, he is the most skilled player out there who happens to be surrounded by players who are not on his level of thinking. His passes are hard, his shots are even harder, but when is someone ever in a position to do something with them? Take last night for example, with McCabe on the point and Gaborik in the right faceoff circle. McCabe released a hard fake-shot pass right to Gaborik, but the puck bounced over his stick. How is it that a player as skilled as he cannot handle a simple pass? Did he forget how to play hockey all of a sudden? Does Tortorella need to hold a fundamentals practice? These idiots skate around trying to make plays, the puck goes to McCabe, and when he passes it back, they seem like they have never seen that shiny, black, rubber disc before—it’s like they are shocked.

The shining of all examples of this ineptitude of course came on March 31 against the New York Islanders, in a game they had to win. To be honest, I don’t think anything thought the Rangers were going to lose that game, especially since they always play well on Long Island. The Rangers took a 1-0 lead despite playing sloppily, but then they somehow managed to give up six straight goals before adding one late, to fall 6-2 in their most embarrassing performance of recent memory. The killer in this one? Going a mind-numbing 0-9 on the powerplay. That’s almost the equivalent of spending an entire period with the man-advantage, only to score zero goals.

No matter what happens in these next two days, the Rangers can look at that matchup against the Islanders and say that is what did them in.  For the second straight season, the Rangers can get eliminated by a division rival; first the Flyers, now the Devils (which is worse?). Even if they do lose tomorrow, the Rangers can still get in if the Hurricanes lose their last two games, but I would not count on it. Carolina is playing well and actually deserves to make the playoffs. The Rangers deserve absolutely nothing.

The Rangers just have to go out there and win tomorrow, then pray for some divine intervention. I can see the Rangers winning tomorrow, even though the Devils are going to come out firing on all cylinders since this is their playoff game this season, but what I cannot see is the Hurricanes losing their next two games. Either way, it is out of our hands. This season will be known as the one that got away, it’s that simple.

Home Ice Horror Continues as Rangers Fall to Hurricanes 4-3

It’s fitting that the last Rangers home game before Halloween ended the way it did. The team that made it their mantra to improve home ice play this season now falls to 1-3-1 on Madison Square Garden ice. But once again, the Rangers got a good showing from their offense, only to have their defense act out a script written by Wes Craven.

In a game where Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head, the Rangers defenseman in front of him could not help but stand by like spectators as Erik Cole plopped one into the net on the powerplay for the game winning goal with just under four minutes remaining in the third period. Tonight’s game was a microcosm of an already young season—the team that was supposed to have all defense and goaltending is showing all offense and no defense, while leaving their abused star goaltender hung out to dry. Lundqvist was run repeatedly, with no toughness to derail any of it. He also made save after save, some making me feel pains in my groin after watching him stretch. Where there was a rebound, there was a Hurricane to collect it, not a Blueshirt to swipe it away.

The Hurricanes got on the board first in the opening frame, when Tuomo Ruutu lifted the puck over the pad of an outstretched Lundqvist off a brilliant pass by Anton Babchuk. This came after Lundqvist made multiple marquee stops, including one on that very play whose rebound was allowed to be shot in. On the other end of the rink, Cam Ward himself was excellent in goal. The final score would not be indicative to how these goaltenders played.

Carolina would score their second of the game less that a minute into the second period, by Jeff Skinner. Trailing 2-0, the Rangers would then hunker down and respond to tie the score. Ryan Callahan scored a little more than three minutes later on assists from Anisimov and Rozsival on the powerplay. With eight minutes remaining, Marc Staal would tie the game after he was hit with a great pass from Christensen. Frolov would get a secondary on the play, the only few seconds he bothered to show up tonight, except when he was robbed blind by Ward midway through the first.

But less than a minute after the Rangers tied the score, Skinner would strike again on a mini breakaway. The Rangers would show some resilience, though, as two minutes later Brandon Dubinsky added his fifth of the year. He now leads the team in goals and points and has been the team’s best forward in Gaborik’s absence. The Rangers also hit two posts, one in the first and one in the second.

With the game tied at three heading into the third, the sloppy defense continued. With less than six minutes to go, a penalty would cost the Rangers a goal again. With Boyle off for boarding, Erik Cole would park himself in the crease and net the game winner, sending the Rangers home with another disappointing loss.

On a good note, Henrik Lundqvist had a stellar night in net and the line of Fedotenko, Avery, and Boyle, “The FAB Three” continued to be very rugged and created chances. Michal Rozsival also had a strong game and Erik Christensen finally looked comfortable in the lineup. But all of this is small consolation for a team that has so many little things wrong with it, that it is hard to pin-point—every night it appears to be something new.

Steve Eminger also took another bad penalty tonight , giving reason after reason as to why he should not be on this team, or at least having priority playing time while the youngster Sauer sits.

The Rangers will now head up to Toronto tomorrow night where they will face the Maple Leafs for a third time this season. Tortorella may have been considering playing Biron in that game, but with the way this defense has been, if the Rangers want to have any chance at all to win, they will have to play Lundqvist.

Greg and Joe’s 2010/11 NHL Eastern Conference Predictions

Every year, Joe and I sit down to make our predictions for the final NHL standings. Here is our selection for the Eastern Conference in the 2010/11 season:

Greg Caggiano

1. Washington Capitals*

2. New Jersey Devils*

3. Boston Bruins*

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

5. Tampa Bay Lightning

6. Montreal Canadiens

7. Buffalo Sabres

8. New York Rangers

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9. Toronto Maple Leafs

10. Philadelphia Flyers

11. New York Islanders

12. Carolina Hurricanes

13. Atlanta Thrashers

14. Ottawa Senators

15. Florida Panthers

Joe Aiello

1. Washington Capitals*

2. New York Rangers*

3. Montreal Canadiens*

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

5. Philadelphia Flyers

6. Tampa Bay Lightning

7. Boston Bruins

8. New Jersey Devils

———————————–

9. Buffalo Sabres

10. Toronto Maple Leafs

11. Atlanta Thrashers

12. New York Islanders

13. Ottawa Senators

14. Carolina Hurricanes

15. Florida Panthers