The offensively challenged Rangers met the defensively inept Senators on Tuesday. Something had to give, and fortunately, it was the Rangers that came out on the right-end of the score. The win looks wonderful but there were several defensive breakdowns by New York in their own zone that resulted in many scoring changes for Ottawa, and if it wasn’t for Henrik Lundqvist, who was strong despite allowing four goals, the variance would have been a lot closer than the 8-4 score. If you look at this game and the 1-0 loss to San Jose, the Rangers were eons better against the Sharks, but didn’t catch any breaks and ran into better goaltending. Tuesday, the Ottawa goaltending was sieve-live as was their own zone play, leading to 15 giveaways and three goals.
Game Highlights:
While the Rangers got the win, I am not sure I would take much from it and the only thing that I might show the team would be videotapes of the puck actually crossing the goal line, since that has been a rare occurrence. Defense in general was an afterthought and as for physical play, or the lack thereof, I saw more hitting on a Sunday in a two-hand touch pick up football game in the park than on the ice. That said, a win was necessary and the Rangers achieved that, but the execution shortly left a lot to be desired.
Ottawa has a good amount of offensive talent, but as we saw and knew coming into the game, they turn the puck over a lot, especially in their own zone, and the defensive coverage is weak. The question coming into the game was if NY could take advantage of those changes, and fortunately for the Rangers, they did Tuesday. Conversely, it looked as if New York got caught up a bit of the fire-wagon hockey, especially when the score became 5-2 and forward, failing to pick up players in the slot or take the body when needed, surrendering way too much territory in their own zone to Ottawa. When he needed to be, and really throughout, Henrik Lundqvist was good in picking up win #302 to take over sole control on the team's leaderboard as to most regular season wins by a Rangers goalie.
Offensively, this was Mats Zuccarello best game since return from his injury. His superior vision and awareness was apparent throughout, finding open teammates all over the offensive zone. I thought Brassard was good again, and if he can ever unlock the consistency question, he could be a dominant scorer in the league. Martin St. Louis was active despite the lack of shots, though I would like to see him generate chances on net, but he seems more content to set others up, as he has done since being here. If the team had better finishers, St. Louis would have double-digit assists, and maybe because of those lack of closers, he needs to be aggressive in trying to score himself. Benoit Pouliot's goal was huge and it showed what can happen from a good forecheck, which was the case most of the night. It was great to see Rick Nash get off the schneid with a shorthanded goal, in which he showed speed and skill, each of which had been lacking lately. Derek Stepan found a way not to have a goal off the skate be reversed, amazing they got one right. I would love to see Zucc-Brass-Pouliot on the top PP rather than the Nash combination.
As so-so as the blue line was defensively, was as good as they were offensively. Good pinches. Aggressive in creating chances and jumping into open spaces. Kevin Klein has been better than expected in that regard and it was good to see John Moore get one, even if it was due to a lousy play by the goalie. Ryan McDonagh shows nightly how much he has grown offensively, and given what we hear about Brady Skjei's similar growth in college and room for further improvement, makes me very hopeful as to what he can bring for the future.
With 12 more games to go, scoreboard watching has now become the sport inside of the sport, as the Rangers sit third in the division, 37-29-4 with 78 points:
Division:
Philly- won 3-2 over Chicago in OT, three straight victories, 7-2-1 last 10, two games in hand on the Rangers, one point up on NY, in second place
Columbus - lost 3-1 to Carolina, 6-3-1 in last 10, two games in hand, two points behind NY in fourth place, second wild card
Washington - won 3-2 over Anaheim, three straight victories, 5-4-1 last 10, no games in hand, two points behind NY
New Jersey - lost 4-2 to Boston, three straight defeats, 5-5-0 last 10, one game in hand, seven points behind NY
Carolina - 3-1 win over Columbus, 4-6-0 last 10, one game in hand, none points behind NY
Conference (teams within 10 either way, as Boston has a lock of Atlantic division, with second, third and wild cards up for grabs)
Montreal - second in Atlantic, won three in a row, 6-4-0 last 10, no games in hand, five points up on Rangers
Tampa Bay - third in Atlantic, won three in a row, 4-4-2 last 10, two games in hand on Rangers, three points up on Rangers
Toronto - fourth place in Atlantic, lost two in a row, 4-4-2 last 10, no games in hand, two points up on Rangers, first wild card
Detroit - fifth place in Atlantic, won one, 5-4-1 last 10, two games in hand, three points behind the Rangers
Ottawa - sixth place in Atlantic, lost two in a row, 2-6-2 last 10, two games in hand, nine points behind the Rangers
Two huge games upcoming, at Columbus on Friday and New Jersey on Saturday. Friday's game could play a big role in determining divisional placement and standing in the Wild Card race. Remaining games overall are seven on the road and five at home. Huge west coast swing from 3/28 to 4/3. Last three of four at MSG.
In order:
3/21- @ CMB 3/22 - @NJ 3/24 - Phx 3/26 - Phi 3/28 - @Cgy 3/30 - @Edm 4/1 - @Van 4/3 - @Col 4/5 - Ott 4/8 - Car 4/10 - Buf 4/12 - @Mtl