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Game 5: NYR 4 WAS 2, Rangers rally to win on road, Civility in Criticism |
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A win is a win is a win, but some wins are worth more psychologically then others. Saturday's victory over the Capitals was such a win. Rallying from 2-0 down on the road against a division rival should provide the team a nice boost. The quick turnaround either helps the team, since they won't lose any momentum, or hurts them, due to the back-to-back, but hopefully it's the former and not the latter.
I thought the Rangers were okay not great in the first period. They had moments where they dominated play but Washington controlled the puck and play a substantial portion of that frame. The first goal was due to a bad turnover while the second was one Henrik Lundqvist would love back and it was 2-0 after two.
Adam Clendening turned one over at the blue line with a weak pass up the boards that was picked off by Brooks Orpik. Brady Skjei couldn’t tie up Lars Eller in front, allowing him to get position and tip Orpik’s shot past Lundqvist and just 1:33 in, it was 1-0. On the second goal, Marc Staal was turned inside out by Alexander Ovechkin, whose wrist shot beat Lundqvist. That was likely a shot that should have been stopped and I am sure we all thought, here we go again. But after that goal, Lundqvist was All World.
Carp pointed out a subtle change made by AV, where he moved Pirri up to Miller-Hayes line early in the second. That line netted the first goal with Clendening making up for the turnover with a nice outlet pass to Pirri, who played give-and-go with Miller in the neutral zone and then used Nate Schmidt as a screen to beat Braden Holtby to cut the deficit in half.
A huge kill on the double-minor precipitated the second goal. If not for this kill, what transpired after may not have happened or mattered. I really like the aggressiveness of the penalty kill. As long as the blue line is in the right position when the forwards force the action, this strategy is one that should have decent success.
The second goal was good puck movement in the offensive zone going side to side coupled with some puck luck. Hayes and Clendening made good plays to keep the puck in and then it went over to Derek Stepan on the left side of the ice. Stepan's shot was blocked but Rick Nash was able to make a neat backhand dish to Jimmy Vesey, who didn't miss the open the net to tie the game on the man advantage.
A monster save by Lundqvist on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s breakaway around Nick Holden kept in even at two. In a game that New York came back to win, the penalty kill and this save might get lost in the mix. But they were two huge moments in this contest and Lundqvist had several more big saves after the Rangers took the lead, but this one was really impressive.
As Carp wrote: On a line change, Mats Zuccarello caused a neutral-zone turnover, Zibanejad got it ahead to Zuccarello, who gave it to Vesey (rhymes with Easy). The rookie just roasted Karl Alzner and Holtby for his second of the game and a 3-2 lead. The pass from Zucc caught Vesey in stride so he had the angle, but he used power to get past Alzner and skill to keep the puck and then beat Holtby five-hole.
Some dicey moments in the third when Washington made their push, but the D played fairly well for the most part and Hank was Hank. Nash deserved the empty-netter that put it away with 5.9 seconds to go, as he was strong throughout the contest. Yes, I also thought he would miss the net and the Caps would tie it at the buzzer but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
Civility in Criticism
Full Tilt NYR had a great blog on this last night (http://fulltiltnyr.com/reminder-next-time-trash-player-twitter-never-know-whos-reading/). It's something we have discussed a lot on this blog, especially when it comes to certain player who have been whipping boys for the fanbase. The vitriol that I have seen in the past has been way over the top.
The players that we and others have ripped are someone's son, brother, husband, father and friend. Remembering that when we make comments should be first and foremost before tweeting anything. It's civility in criticism. If you want to criticize, that's your right. But as we have seen way too often lately that criticism has gone way beyond the pale.
Hoping that player gets injured. Wishing they would die. Nastiness above and beyond what should we ever be said, all have become the norm. The anonymity of the web fosters some of this but we have also seen it at games, and even more disturbing, in parking lots after the game.
Sports can draw out the best and worst in all of us. I am just as passionate a fan as the next person. If you don't believe, ask my kids, who see me yell at the TV. But there is a line that should never be crossed and that's making the annoyance person. Be upset at the play and even the player but don't go beyond that. Try and have some civility in the criticism, regardless of the level of annoyance. Remember this when ripping Tanner Glass or Dan Girardi or Rick Nash or anyone else.
Tonight's game against Arizona:
Dan Girardi is expected back from his groin/hip injury while Pavel Buchnevich might return from his back spasms. Clendening is skating with the extras this AM, so he may be the odd-man out, which will hurt the PP. Look for G to be back with McD, Klein to play with Staal and Skjei to play with Holden. Personally, I would have played Clendening and sat Holden, who has been solid but Clendening brings a missing element.
If Buch plays, though it's unlikely as he was expected to be sidelined through the weekend and return to action next week, as Dundee suggested we could see:
K-Z-Z
Nash-Stepan-Vesey
Miller-Hayes-Buch
Grabner-Pirri-Fast
That would mean Jooris is scratched, Buch is on the third line and Pirri plays center. This gives the Rangers another PP threat if Clendening is out and maintains two solid penalty killers in Grabner and Fast in the lineup.
If no Buch, which is the most likely scenario, then same lineup and original configuration as last night.
Raanta likely between the pipes
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