The Western Canada trip, which was so good to the Rangers last year, did not start in fine fashion Wednesday. New York fell to Vancouver 2-1, largely due to what could be classified as a wacky third period, during which all three goals were scored. The Rangers continue their road trip Friday in Edmonton, before which Glen Sather will be honored by the Oilers.
The Rangers were actually very good the first period, carrying play. Unfortunately, too often they fell prey to another bug-a-boo, over passing, searching for the perfect shot. Then when they did shoot, the lack of traffic in front or ability to get to and/or convert rebounds doomed them again.
New York leveled off in the second but still looked to be in pretty good shape, especially with the fourth line dominating the Sedin line. It fell apart in the third, though it's hard to blame the players directly, as the referees aided in that decline. While short handed, due to a Dominic Moore hooking penalty, Jarret Stoll was given a penalty for delay of game. If the two sides were 5-on-5, it would've been a questionable call. But when you factor in that the Rangers were already short handed and Stoll really didn't have anywhere to go, calling it then was even more ridiculous. Of course, Alex Edler capitalized on the penalty to make it 1-0. Another questionable cal, gave the Rangers a penalty shot, where Dan Boyle, yes Dan Boyle, scored to even it.
That tie lasted 30 seconds. Rick Nash was slow in getting to the puck to clear the s Zone. Oscar Lindberg and Dan Girardi covered the same player in front, which could have been partially due to them expecting Nash to clear the zone. By doing so, they left Daniel Sedin alone on the weak side of the net and he deflected the puck past Henrik Lundqvist.
I wrote the following in the blog. "It's become the easy argument to blame Marc Staal and Girardi. They haven't played great, but as jimbo and others said, blame the forwards. One goal allowed to the Isles and a loss. Two goals allowed to Colorado and a loss. Two goals allowed to Vancouver and a loss. Any mistake gets magnified because they aren't scoring. Whether you believe in PDO and knew a regression was coming or have just watched the games and seen a lack of chances, the forwards have been much more guilty than the blue line lately for the team's struggles."
Carp made a similar point. "You can point fingers at Derick Brassard, Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello (been awful for a while, with one goal, no assists in his last nine games), Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider (been awful most of the season) – the fancy-boy Rangers have seven even-strength goals in six games, and that includes a penalty shot and an empty-netter. Again, just as they’ve battened down the defense, they sprung a leak on offense. And it’s the fault of the top guys." Early in the season, Lundqvist kept them in games despite the defense struggles while Kreider and Nash were invisible.
They were also carried by Zucc and Lindberg along with some good games by Stepan. Zucc, as noted above, has come back to earth. Lindberg is still playing well but none of us expected him to score as he did early and Stepan is out at least another five weeks. So, in cases like this, your other big boys have to step up, but none have. Nash had that mini hot streak but he isn't carrying play and the team. Hayes is a shell of what he showed last year. So when you add it up, it's no surprise the offense has dried up.
Keith Yandle had played much better recently but he too wasn't great last night. Ryan McDonagh looks back to his old self, and with Kevin Klein out, those two have been the team's best offensive defenders. We can't expect Staal or Girardi to score and Dylan McIlrath is still adjusting, so other than the occasional blast from the point, don't count on much from him. This brings us to Boyle. Most hate him, yet he has been one of the team's best d-man and provides a shot at offense from the blue line, which is desperately and even more needed with the forwards scuffling.
The hope has to be that the big boys turned it around, or at least helps the team tread water until Stepan is back. Boy does the team miss him. The adage of you don't know what you have until it's gone couldn't be more right. The other problems are with the minimal cap room, it would be almost impossible to add someone, though Stepan could go on LTIR to create room. Jayson Megna or Brian Gibbons are not likely the answer, so I would possibly give Adam Tambellini a call to see what he can do. But regardless if Nash and Hayes and Kreider and Zucc and even Derick Brassard to an extent don't produce, no matter what you do, it might not be enough.
If you want to get paid like and be viewed as a top-six player, then produce like one. Right now, that and not the D is the Rangers biggest problem