By Ed Stein
Tonight the Rangers are in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers in game three of their playoff series. It's hard to preview the contest without reviewing a few things from Sunday's disappointing loss.
Effort. Effort. Effort. The Rangers opened up a two goal lead in the first period which set off a wake up call for their opponents. Flyer wing Jacob Voracek blew past Ryan McDonagh for Philly's first goal and from that point the Rangers could never match the pace. According to alternate captain Brad Richards, the Rangers “went into cruise control.” after taking their original two goal lead. Frankly, that is unacceptable. Additionally, taking a too many men on the ice penalty when you are trying to tie the game in the final minutes is also unacceptable this time of year.
There are reasons teams lose games. As an athlete, coach, or spectator you know when your team just doesn't have it that day. You can also accept that there are times when the other guys are just flat out better than you. These things happens over the course of a long season. However, when its crunch time, your team goes into cruise control and makes stupid mental mistakes, its time to face yourself in the mirror and ask some tough questions.
Earlier today former Ranger and current Quinnipiac hockey analyst Chris Kotsopoulos posted this on facebook:
“The Rangers took one on the chin after what looked to be a easy win in Game 2. Just go's to show you how important every shift, every play and every moment on the ice really is. You can't stop playing and that's what they did. The Flyers bounced back in a big way, now it's up to the Rangers to do the same. Passing, Special teams, Offense, Defense, Goal tending all need to be better. Be first to the puck, be first to initiate contact, be first back in your own end. Simply put be first in all aspects of the game.”
I sent Chris a follow up question asking if the Rangers lack of effort fell on the coaching staff and he shot back:
“It doesn't fall on the coaching staff in my opinion ...Players should know the situation and what's at stake. It's the playoffs.”
So let's look at the contest.
It's time to call upon “The Train Wreck” Dan Carcillo. There are several reasons for this:
--The Flyers imposed their will, physically, on the Rangers in game two. A combination of Derek Dorsett and Carcillo should guard against that.
--It looks like Philly is trying to wear down the diminutive Mats Zuccarello. Someone needs to step up and let the opposition know that there is a price to be paid for going after an offensive weapon; something Carcillo has had no problem doing throughout his career.
--There is some obvious bad blood between Wayne Simmonds and Carcillo. Aside from a fight headlining a pay-per-view, if Simmonds can be enticed into taking a dumb penalty or even coincidental penalties, its a plus for the Rangers.
--Jesper Fast has brought nothing to the lineup and he can be substituted for without disrupting chemistry.
--Finally, when one of your team leaders says the team went into cruise control, there needs to be a spark. That's Carcillo.
If coach Alain Vignault goes with the same lineup, we'll see:
Nash-Stepan-St. Louis
Pouliot-Brassard-Zucarello
Hagelin-Richards-Fast
Boyle-D. Moore-Dorsett
If Carcillo plays, it will be on the fourth line and Dominic Moore will move up to the third.
On defense, it will be:
McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Strallman
J. Moore-Klein
And of course Lundqvist in the nets, with Talbot as the backup
Sunday Philly ramped up the intensity level. The Rangers have to answer and kick it up a notch themselves.
When the Rangers have the man advantage, they need to shoot more. I had a Bill Chadwick moment yelling at the screen “Shoot the puck!” during their four on three.
Sometimes there is a fine line between gamesmanship and deceit. Neither Dorsett or Zuccarello took dives on Sunday, but you can bet that the refs will be watching closely and at this point the Rangers have lost the benefit of the doubt.
A couple of quick notes:
I live in Nashville and Michael Del Zotto was the subject of an interesting article. Apparently MDZ has no idea if he will be back with the Predators next year (he is a restricted free agent). It doesn't help his cause that former coach Barry Trotz said Del Zotto, a veteran of 317 NHL games, wasn't experienced enough to have a full-time role. Another good trade for Slats as Kevin Klein has been dependable on the second/third pairing since his arrival.
It was tough to see Ducks defenseman Stephane Robidas fracture his leg for a second time this season after working so hard to come back.
In their current series, the Blue Jackets don't have the talent Pittsburgh does, but I get the sense it won't be long before they are competing for a division title and beyond. John Davidson has done a fantastic job changing the team culture. I hope Phil Jackson is paying attention.
Jan will be back to recap the game tomorrow.
Ed Stein
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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