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Jimmy Howard defied the odds in the first period. His much needed Herculean effort could not push through another disastrous second period. The Rangers after 2 periods were outshooting Detroit 27 to 15, but had 54 shot attempts and a gaudy 62% possession number. Not much push back from Detroit. Or, more accurately, not much ability to push back.
The Rangers are an interesting study in market pressure vs rebuild. It wasn’t long ago that the ownership and management warned of a coming rebuild. The club came out of last year’s lottery with the 2nd overall pick (bitterness implied) and picked up potential superstar Kaapo Kakko. Add to that the acquisition of Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba and you have a head scratching bit of polarization. In short, the New York sports market is incredibly demanding, and perception is everything. The pressures for the Rangers to have a competitive team on ice are every bit as high as Toronto. And so, you have this bizarre mix of high priced free agents and developing prospects. To their credit, they got some fantastic players.
Panarin’s goal at the end of the second was incredible. His ability to change and adapt his shot selection in a fraction of a second is awe inspiring. Somewhere Stan Bowman is losing more hair. This player keeps getting better. The goaltending situation is enviable as Shesterkin is expansion draft exempt and looks like a stud. So much so that a very good goalie in Georgiev is available. I was one of those who assumed that any decline of Lundquist would be tragic to the Rangers. Not so, it seems. Detroit was bested by another team that is supposedly rebuilding, and beaten handily.
As the third period came to pass (not quickly enough) the obligatory couple of goals to make you feel better came via Fabbri (12) and Filppula (4) with Larkin and Fabbri both collecting assists (along with Daley). To put some context here, Panarin had his 43rd assist 27th goal. His 70 points compared to 36 by Larkin and Bertuzzi. That is eye opening talent.
Mlive pasted an article entitled “Red Wings needed to hit rock bottom for quicker path back to the top…. article link
To be fair, I haven’t had the stomach to broach that particular piece. It feels a little like someone swearing that having a horrible disease was the best thing that ever happened to them. As much as you want to believe them, it just doesn’t seem possible. In fact, the line seems a bit like Pinocchio’s failed attempt at motivational speaking:
We all feel the pain. There isn’t a great spin on any of this. And, as New York, Chicago and New Jersey proved last year, last place doesn’t mean first pick. It does, however, assure picking no worse than 4th. It probably also means more public appearances by Wings players and management this summer. Maybe even a chance to have your car detailed by a player! Who knows.
By now, we all accept what the team is and who’s probably not coming back. There was an interesting bit of buzz regarding Gerard Gallant and whether or not Detroit should grab him now. Thankfully, the former Golden Knight’s coach is taking his time and won’t make any decisions until after this season. (Pre draft would be ideal). Read about that here
In other words, buckle up. Just 30 more games like the first 52 and we’re done with this bit of “rock bottom… and ready for the next. Detroit will be right back at it against these same Rangers tomorrow night. Hopefully Detroit will be in a bad enough mood to at least muck it up a bit. Check back here after the game for more unbridled optimism! Please leave your thoughts in the comments section and enjoy tomorrow’s game!