The Rangers blew a golden opportunity Saturday to lock down a playoff berth and strengthen their hold on home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With Columbus losing to Chicago on a goal with four seconds to go and Washington losing to the Devils 2-1 on Friday and Philly falling 5-2 to Boston Saturday afternoon, New York got three breaks that good teams take advantage of and they failed to do so. Instead, they fell behind 2-0 to an Ottawa team coming off a 7-4 embarrassing loss to the Canadiens and fell 3-2 at MSG.

Game Lowlights:



You can use the argument that the team was tired after their four-game West Coast road trip. You can say that they were facing an Ottawa team with more at stake than them because a loss would've probably totally eliminated them from playoff contention. If you want, you can say that they showed some life in coming back, and if it wasn't for a strong Robin Lehner, they would have won. All of those may be true, but the bottom line is, all that matters is the scoreboard at the end of the game. Moral victories and excuses don't cut it in general, but especially this time of year, with playoff clinching, positioning and games looming.

As good as the Pouliot-Brassard-Zuccarello line was on the two goals for were as bad as they were on the two goals against. On the first, I don't fault Zucc for trying to steal the pass from Chris Phillips to Clarke MacArthur at the blue line, because if he gets it, he goes in on Lehner on a breakaway. What I fault was the lousy coverage once Ottawa gained the zone, especially failing to pick up Mark Stone, who waltzed down the center of the ice to beat Henrik Lundqvist low to the glove side from the slot.

The Rangers carried play for a while after the goal, but were unable to beat Lehner. Brian Boyle and Rich Nash had quality chances but Lehner stoned them. Right after Nash was stopped, Ottawa made it 2-0. The Senators won a draw in the Rangers zone, Pouliot skated past Mika Zibanejad, who gave the Senators a 2-0, by beating Lundqvist wide-open from the slot over his glove. The goal was a result of more, poor own-zone coverage, which enabled Zibanejad to get free on the slot for the goal. After Zuccarello cut it to 2-1, the third goal was a killer and was due to more bad luck than anything else, though Ottawa was able to get good pressure in front of Lundqvist due to a bad Brad Richards turnover and so-so play by the blueline. Hank made the first save on Erik Karlsson, yet didn't get the whistle. New York allowed Jason Spezza to keep poking at the puck, which eventually made its way into the net.

Zuccarello was able to tip in Marc Staal's point shot to make it 3-2 but that was as close as the a Rangers got. Martin St. Louis had a quasi-breakaway but he was stopped by Lehner. Late, following some ridiculous calls by the official that gave Ottawa a two-minute, power play with 2:47 left, the Rangers were unable to generate any real pressure on Lehner. Zucc put one in front that Derek Stepan got a piece of to redirect it on Lehner, but it was an easy save and the game ended. Even though NY generated lots of pressure on Lehner, there were few rebounds, and if there were any Ottawa did a good job of keeping the a Rangers on the periphery, minimizing opportunities. Good teams find a way to at least get a point, yesterday, either a lack of intensity or energy or both, resulted in the 2-0 deficit from which the Rangers couldn't recover.

I wanted to touch on three things: first, the Staal-Neil play, second, line combinations and third, the comments on the blog.

First, the Staal hit. If you watched the replay, and if anyone an embedded link, please post it, as have looked all over and can't find it, so added the MSG link below.

http://www.msg.com/teams/rangers.html?vid=2446762722

Watching it, and it's pretty clear about two minutes into the above line, Neil came all the way across the ice and hit Staal after he released the puck. It's amazing how Neil didn't get a charging or interference or additional roughing call following a play like that. Plus, he three punches at Staal's head when he see down on the ice - as Carp, points out, at least the official did a good job stepping in when Staal down and defenseless - yet, how no initial penalty or a fighting major was called is astonishing.

Following the brouhaha that resulted when many felt the Rangers' response to the Alexandre Burrows hit on Ryan McDonagh was insufficient, it was good to see that almost everyone on the ice responded. Pouliot was the first while Zuccarello was the most active in going after Neil first, then Zack Smith, following a jab from Smith to Zucc when he was trying to help Staal. You had Pouliot with Eric Gryba and Brassard mixing it up with Zibanejad and getting a game misconduct for arguing too vociferously, which was another inane call.

The Rangers may have lost the war by taking the extra minor but won the battle, as this may be viewed down the road as galvanizing event. In years past, we spoke about how the team failed to respond when challenged, such as the Gaborik hit against Philly. In addition, the Burrows play was not viewed favorably by many. I know many think this team is soft, and when you compare then to 2011-12, they are. But that's because Prust is gone as well as grinders like Fedotenko. However, while the team is more skilled than that one, you can't allow liberties to be taken forever. That's why I was happy to see the response last night. Not happy to see Staal hit or go after Neil, but to me, that's an indication he is fully healthy and won't take any more garbage.

Second, line combinations. It's amazing to see just how big of an impact Kreider's injury has caused and how much it indicates more depth was needed. Coach Alain Vigneault has no confidence in JT Miller, seen in his comments when he was demoted. But the absence of Kreider and no true top-nine forward to fill in has resulted in complete chaos up front.

Yesterday, as Cap wrote, AV put Brian Boyle with Richards and St. Louis, which as we saw was a nightmare. Neither Boyle mor Richards can really keep up with St. Louis, and give how bad Richards has been in general, which I believe is five points his last 17 games, and with St. Louis, that's a combination that isn't working. Much of the blame has to be placed on St. Louis, who needs to get into the dirty areas and keep grinding when he isn't scoring, but Richards and Boyle aren't helping him. I thought Dominic Moore was pretty good with St. Louis and playing him on that line, allows Carcillo-Boyle-Dorsett, who were effective, to remain together. That lack of additional talent up front, which should have been addressed at the deadline, is really hurting the Rangers now. here’s an idea.

Third, comments on the blog. What makes the blog great is that each person has their own view, and in many cases, it differs from someone else has. Having that dichotomy is critical for the balance of the blog, to keep it from going too far one way or the other. I implore each of you to respect each other, as you normally have done. If Old School or Cranford do not believe that the Rangers are tougher enough to win or that the Callahan deal was a mistake, the respect that view and don't all gang up or shout them down.

Their views are valid just like the rest of the commenters. Just because you don't share that opinion, doesn't make it wrong or any less valid. It just means that's it's different. I don't have a Polly Anna view of the Rangers where everything is right, no do I think everything is wrong, the key is to call it as I see it, which is what should be the case for everyone here. Yesterday's loss was disappointing, if someone wants to view the game as endemic of an overall issues, they are free to do and may be right, just because I may not share that view or others view that as incorrect, doesn't mean they should express that view, especially if backed up with a solid argument.

We will have enough issues with others who aren't Rangers fans coming into the blog, don't turn on those who are.

The Playoff Race:

Starting with 12 games to go, scoreboard watching became the sport inside of the sport. As of March 27, the Rangers sit second in the division, 42-31-5 with 91 points. When I do a recap or game preview blog, I will include this at the bottom of the blog. However, on non-game/recap days, I will run this daily since this is a huge topic of conversation and a large component of our focus.

Friday, Washington fell 2-1 to NJ, who are now right back in the playoff hunt given their hot weekend. Montreal defeated Ottawa 7-4 while the Blackhawks scored with four seconds left to beat the Blue Jackets 4-3 and Buffalo lost 3-2 to Detroit. Saturday, as mentioned above, Boston beat Philly 5-2, the Capitals kept their slim hopes alive with a 4-3, shootout win over the Islanders, the Devils beat Carolina 3-1, Winnipeg defeated a collapsing Toronto squad 4-2, Montreal topped Detroit 5-3 and Dallas beat Tampa 5-2. Sunday, Buffalo faces Philly while the Islanders can help the Rangers by beating Columbus.

Division:

Philly - lost 5-2 to Boston on 4/5, their second defeat in a row. 4-4-2 last 10, two games in hand on and four points behind the Rangers in third place in division. (played 39 games at home, 38 on road, two left at home, three on road, those are Buff, @Fla, @TB, @Pitt, Canes)

Columbus - lost 4-3 to Chicago on 4/4, their second defeat in a row, 4-5-1 in last 10, two games in hand, fourth in the division and six points behind the Rangers. Second Wild Card. (played 39 games at home, 38 on road, two left at home, three on road, Isles, Phoenix, @Dal, @TB, @Fla)

New Jersey - won 2-1 over Washington on 4/4 and 3-1 over Carolina on 4/5, 5-2-3 last 10, one game in hand, seven points behind NY. One point behind second wild card but Columbus has one game in hand. (played 38 games at home, 40 on road, three left at home, one on road, Flames, @Ott, isles, Bos)

Washington - defeated the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on 4/4, 4-3-3 last 10, one game in hand, sixth in division and eight points behind NY. Two points behind second wild card but Columbus has one game in hand. (played 39 games at home, 39 on road, two left at home, two on road, Dallas, @St.L, @Canes, Chi, TB)

Carolina - lost 3-1 to NJ on 4/5, 5-3-2 last 10, one game in hand, 12 points behind NY, six behind last wild card spot. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, @NYR, Was, @Det, @Phi) (likely to drop off list with next loss)

Conference (teams within 10 either way, as Boston has a lock of Atlantic division, with second, third and wild cards up for grabs)

Montreal - second in Atlantic, won 7-4 over Ott on 4/4 and 5-3 over Detroit on 4/5, 8-2-0 last 10, no games in hand and six points up on Rangers. (played 39 games at home, 40 on road, two left at home, one on road, Det, @Chi, Isles, Rangers)

Tampa Bay - third in Atlantic, lost 5-2 to Dallas on 4/4, their second in a row, 5-3-2 last 10, one game in hand and two points up on Rangers. (played 38 games at home, 40 on road, three left at home, one on road, Tor, Flyers, Columbus, @Caps)

Detroit - fourth place in Atlantic, lost 5-3 to Detroit on 4/5, 6-3-1 in last 10, have played one less game than Toronto, one game in hand and three points behind the Rangers. First Wild Card. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, @Buff, @Pitt, Canes, @St.L)

Toronto - fifth place in Atlantic, lost 4-2 to Winnipeg on 4/5, 2-8-0 last 10, same number of games and seven points behind the Rangers. One point behind Columbus for second wild card, but Blue Jackets have two games in hand (played 41 games at home, 38 on road, none left at home, three on road, @TB, @Fla, @Ott)

Ottawa - sixth place in Atlantic, beat the Rangers 3-2 on 4/5, 5-4-1 last 10, one game in hand, 11 points behind the Rangers and five behind last Wild Card spot. (played 39 games at home, 39 on road, two left at home, two on road). (likely to drop off with another loss or two, @NYI, NJ, Tor, @Pit)

Summary: Two huge wins over Columbus and New Jersey, followed by a gut-check win over Phoenix, solid team effort in victory over Philly, bad loss to Calgary, convincing rebound win over Edmonton, solid victory over Vancouver, disappointing shootout loss to Colorado and frustrating loss to Ottawa. The Rangers the past several seasons have been excellent down the stretch, to lock in a spot, they may need to do the same thus year. Rangers have three games left, two at home, Hurricanes and Sabres at the Garden on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, before the Apr. 12 finale in Montreal.

In order:

3/21- @ CMB - win 3-1
3/22 - @NJ - win 2-0
3/24 - Phx - win 4-3, OT
3/26 - Phi - win 3-1
3/28 - @Cgy - lost 4-3
3/30 - @Edm - won 5-0
4/1 - @Van - won 3-1
4/3 - @Col - lost 3-2, S/O
4/5 - Ott - lost 3-2
4/8 - Car
4/10 - Ott
4/12 - @MTL

Also, as a reminder, I will be out starting next Thursday as need surgery to repair a hernia and then have the first two days Passover on April 15 and 16. I am still looking to see if anyone would like to write a blog while I am out. Please PM me and let me know so I can make sure we have robust and new coverage while I am out.

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