The final score and pretty much everything in the game has and is ovcershadowed by the hit by Brooks Orpik on Derek Stepan. Give Pittsburgh credit for winning and clinching second place while the Rangers came out flat and in showed in their performance. That prior sentence is pretty much all that has to be said about the game, though I will touch on a few things, as there were very few positives in the loss.
The top two lines were basically non-existent. The defense was average at best and the goalie was horrible. The only possible positive was the play of the Dubi-Boyle-Feds line, which could be switched up if Stepan can't play.
Now on to the topic at hand. Your view on the hit likely depends on your who you root fror. Rangers fans are up in arms because of the view that it was dirty and illegal. Penguins fans believe that it was clean hit and the legs colliding were just an unfortunate coincidence based on Stepan cutting inside on Orpik. Those who root for neither team will either base their view on who they hate less or possibly on what's right and fair, though that is dependent on personality etc.
As I said last night, and I have copied and pasted it here as you can check to see if I am telling the truth on page 12 of my prior blog. I have embedded the videos from You Tube to provide evidence and additional flavor. "You Tube has the MSG replay. Watched it multiple times. The first angle doesn't look so bad, the second especially makes it look like he extended the leg while the third looked like he did as well but not as clear as the second. The five, plus the game misconduct, plus player history should likely result in a suspension, but given how wishy-washy Shanahan has been in general, who knows what will happen. Hopefully Steps is okay.
On Torts post-game comments, I think the one piece - which to me was the most important - was when he said that there is no respect in the league between the players. It's something I have written and we have spoken about before and there has been a major degradation over the years in that area and number of cheap shots in general in the league."
The debate rages on in the Rangers and Penguins blogs. The likelihood of either side having a meeting of the minds on this is remote based on what I wrote in the third paragraph above. Do I care what kind of suspension, if any, Shanaban gives to Orpik. Yes, but more so for cleaning up certain aspects of the game which have gotten out of hand. The bigger concern for Rangers fans is Stepan's health. We can rail all we want on if it was a cheap shot, how the league has turned what seems to be a blind eye to certain hits, how there may be a double standard as to how certain players and teams are treated, but right the primary concern for us as fans is Stepan. The rest - this one for you jimbo - is ancillary. Before I get attacked, my view on hits, and my regular readers know this, is that it doesn't matter who delivered it. If it was a Ranger and dirty, he should be suspended, end of story. Until the players start respecting the game and each other, or the league takes true steps to clean up aspects of it, cheap shots - I am referring to this possible one, as yet to be determined by the NHL, will continue to reign. From what it looks like, Orpik won't be suspended.
The one silver lining is that the Rangers did not really replace Stepan on the lines in practice today, which maybem and I use that term judiciously, maybe means the injury isn't as bad as we first thought. That said, I may just have wishful thinking and be completely off base, but given Torts' comments as well as that of Ryan McDonagh, maybe the Rangers doged a major bullet and they got lucky. John Scott saw time on the AA-Cally line as well as on the fourth line. I was thinking about this last night, if Stepan is out, short- and long-term, I would expect Torts to reunite the Pack line (Dubi-AA-Cally), move Prust up to the third line with Feds and Boyle and play either Scott or Wellman with Mitchell and Rupp, at least until Chris Kreider comes riding on a white steer to save the day.
The other good news is that Hank's stiff forearm is improving and he is almost at the point where he can grasp the stick with his entire hand. It's possible he will play tomorrow against Washington, but the bigger need is for him to be ready for the playoffs, which looks likely. In addition, as reported by the beat writers, Mats Zuccarello got the stitches out but is still in a cast as his broken wrist. He is having difficulty turning his wrist but he hopes to be back if he goes deep.
I went into yesterday's game figuring this would be a lighthearted blog given the circumstances and lack of juice for the contest. How wrong I was. Here's wishing everyone a Happy Passover, Good Friday and Easter, peace on earth and goodwill towards man (can't blame me for trying).
I will be back Sunday night or Monday morning with a new blog probably focused on who the Rangers face in the first round and hopefully not on news as to an extended absence for Stepan.
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