The Rangers fell 4-2 to Ottawa on Tuesday, which resulted in the Senators winning the Eastern Conference Semifinal series 4-2. The Senators came out with their best first period of the six games and led 2-0 after one. The teams exchanged goals in the second with Chris Kreider scoring 53 seconds into the third to raise hopes. Those hopes were dashed as New York was unable to breakthrough on Craig Anderson, who also had his best game of the series stopping 37 shots, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the empty net dagger with seven seconds to go.
Emotionally drained, that's what it feels like. It's what the player are experiencing, the coaching staff and especially the fanbase. In a series where Ottawa gets a ton of credit for continuing to battle and battle and battle, it's hard not to think that New York tossed the series in the garbage can. Player mismanagement and poor line deployments cost New York, Games 2 and 5, which resulted in Game 6 being a do-or-die and also why AV is being taken to task. However, all that matters is the end result on the scoreboard, so while Rangers' fans feel they should have won the series, that and $2.75 get us on the New York Subway, because Ottawa is moving on. In addition. Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone found their games a bit in Ottawa on Saturday and carried that forward into Game 6, as they each scored.
A few thoughts on the loss:
1)
Defensive breakdowns
Each of the three goals allowed (excluding the empty net goal) resulted from a defensive breakdown. The first goal by Hoffman resulted when Nick Holden and Marc Staal - the new Glimmer Twins - both were to the left of Henrik Lundqvist, allowing Hoffman to be unmarked on the other side and deflect Erik Karlsson's slap-pass for the goal.
The second goal was just a bad, soft pass by Brendan Smith. Brady Skjei was caught slightly up ice, but recovered to be in position. But Smith kept sliding backwards, giving Stone time and space to blast the puck past Lundqvist, high to the short side.
Then the killer. after Mike Zibanejad gave New York momentum with his goal, Mats Zuccarello deflected the puck off his skate just a bit too far for him to reach it cleanly. The soft shot was stopped by Anderson, who got the puck to Karlsson and he got it to Bobby Ryan. Smith had a chance to plant Ryan on the boards and didn't, giving him room to go down the left side. Kreider was in good shape with Karlsson but for some reason peeled off to go to Ryan, leaving Karlsson, who found room in the slot and Skjei was late to the slot. Mistakes by Smith and Kreider and Karlsson beats Lundqvist again top shelf, short side.
2)
Slow start
New York scored first in all five games, including both at home when they dominated from start to finish. Ottawa knew this and you had to expect that they didn't want to try and come behind again. They played like a desperate team early while New York was a step slow and on their heels. This game was just like Game 7 of the ECF vs. TB in 2015. For some inexplicable reason, the Rangers failed to bring the intensity level that was needed. AV can say that the team was ready coming in, but the team's failure to come out like they truly were ready is on him.
3)
Powerless power play
New York was given three power play chances early, including a four-man advantage. But the team wasted each one. The same came be said about the power play in the third. Way too many shots from the outside, not enough urgency and quick passing and no tic-tac-toe to go from high to low to slot. This is on the system, which has been a repetitive issue. For that, Scott Arniel has to go. There is too much talent not to have a strong PP. When you go for 3-for-39, there is a major problem and a change must be made.
Moving forward:
With the ending being so raw, emotions are high. We believe that almost everyone needs to go and few were/are good enough to remain. That viewpoint has some validity but knee jerk reactions need to be shelved. We can make valid arguments why AV, Stepan, Hayes, Nash, Miller, Staal, Girardi and Holden all should go. In addition, Kreider didn't have a great playoffs, nor did Zibanejad. Smith and Skjei picked the worst time to have their worst game in the playoffs. McDonagh was very up-and-down and we saw the difference between a truly elite d-man in Karlsson and one that's just very good in McDonagh. I am sure some believe that Lundqvist has to go.
When you have that many kicks at the can and come up short, changes likely are to come. They could be big, like when Torts was fired, or small, adding/removing a piece of two. The likelihood is that bigger than expected changes will come because when you have had a core group together for this long and despite winning nine playoff series and 46 games from 2012 to now, the end result is another year without the Cup. New York lacks a true difference maker. That's not a criticism of Nash, because he has done everything but score, bit other Lundqvist, who is showing signs of slippage, who is NY's difference maker or elite player? In a star drive league, the rangers have one, and it's their goalie, which isn't enough. It might be able to be when everyone pulls their weight, but when that doesn't happen, which includes the coaching staff, losses that shouldn't have occurred, do.
The expansion draft complicates matter, because no-movement clauses mean that as of now, players like G and Staal must be protected. Having to do so means that someone who would potentially be protected like Grabner or Lindberg could be lost. This is where GM Jeff Gorton will need to get creative and either get a player to waive an NMC or sweeten the pot for a player like Holden to be selected. Maybe Stepan, who needs to get stronger and hire Brian Boyle's skating coach to try and fix a major deficiency in his game, gets exposed to free up salary. Same possibly with Nash, but that would mean a big hole to fill and using the $ correctly. Very little is likely not on the table, which will become clearer over time. If this process is managed correctly and the right moves are made, I do believe New York can really contend next year, but that will require the proper use of current assets and addition of needed other ones.
I wrote this last year and it's just as applicable now with a small modification:
Because we are fans, the pain is magnified exponentially. We live and die with each shift, each period and each game. So when it's really over, all that's left is the memories along with views on what needs to be done this offseason. Plus, the thought that this era is over and how unclear it is if New York can climb the mountain again. What we do know is that for the second time in as many years and in the last seven years, there are way more questions than answers in regards to the organization and the team.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»