Sunday, October 13, 2013
Because it’s too easy to constantly pile on and look at the negatives, and, if you’ve been watching the Rangers over their first five games this season, you know there are plenty of negatives, let’s instead look at a couple of encouraging signs from their latest loss.
First and foremost, Henrik Lundqvist looked like Henrik Lundqvist in the third period, stopping 16 of 17 shots in 18:40 of play in the third period, allowing only Vladimir Tarasenko’s power-play goal, which appeared to change directions on Lundqvist. And given that, as detailed in today’s game account in The Record,, coach Alain Vigneault may very well have some trust issues with backup Marty Biron, the Rangers more than ever need Lundqvist to be on his A game. Lundqvist’s one-period relief outing improved his season’s stats to a 4.21 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage, still very unlike Lundqvist numbers.
“We keep fighting back,” Lundqvist said. “It felt like we created enough chances to win. It was definitely a step in the right direction for us and for me. When you come in like that, you try to battle.”
And, to be fair, the Rangers’ forecheck and time spent in the offensive zone was improved as well, at least after the Blues started strongly and took the game’s first six shots and also grabbed an early 1-0 lead on Biron. Limiting the turnovers, particularly in the neutral zone, helped.
“We got pressure going, we got a forecheck going, we spent a lot of time in their end,” captain Ryan Callahan said. “I thought we responded well after two poor games.”
Also, the pros and cons of not buying out Brad Richards will probably be debated all season and into the next offseason, when it will again be a will they or won’t they question. But Richards has been good in the first five games, clearly the Rangers’ best forward so far. He scored his team high fourth goal and also led all Rangers’ skaters with 23:39 of ice time while taking a game-high eight shots.
“I feel like me,” a confident Richards said after the game.
Lastly, among the good news, is this portion of the season-opening nine-game road trip is over and the team will essentially operate out of New York for the next week and a half, with a game Wednesday in Washington and one Saturday in New Jersey all that’s on the slate for this upcoming week. Plus, both the Devils and Capitals are struggling mightily as well so, somebody has got to win, right?
OK, enough of that. The Rangers still lost a game and it’s rare when there’s a game when not one, but two team members possibly have played themselves out of a roster spot. Biron, based on Vigneault issuing a “that’s a good question” when asked directly whether he could still trust the backup goalie to make the necessary 20-plus starts this season, is seemingly an at-risk player. But maybe so should Derek Dorsett be as well. Dorsett continues to take penalties that cripple the Rangers’ momentum. Thursday at Anaheim, Dorsett looked to give the Rangers’ some energy by fighting Bryan Allen and instead also received a two-minute instigator penalty, a two-minute tripping penalty and a 10-minute misconduct as well. Dorsett was supposed to be a poor man’s replacement for what Brandon Prust brought to the Rangers. It hasn’t worked out that way. Against the Blues, Dorsett took a bad boarding penalty in the first period and a bad holding penalty in the second period. But it was his senseless high stick on Brenden Morrow at 10:36 of the third period that was the crusher as Tarasenko scored on the power-play just six seconds later.
Vigneault insisted after the game that while the Rangers played some of their best hockey in the first periods, they simply ran out of gas in the third period, the product of four road games in six nights. I saw it a little differently. I saw a Rangers team that was energized by Lundqvist’s third-period goaltending and Callahan’s second power-play goal, a team that believed it could win the game. But all that momentum was sucked out of the team on Tarasenko’s power-play goal.
“Anytime you get a penalty and they score on it it’s obviously frustrating,” said Dorsett, who has to be given some credit for being accountable for his mistake, remaining for a long time in the post-game dressing room until every media member who wanted to speak with him got the chance. “I knew what was going on in the game, I knew we had momentum. I said to myself even before I got on the ice get pucks deep, keep the momentum going, don’t give a ref the option to give you a penalty with finishing a check. I think I’m usually pretty good with that. Tonight the puck got chipped back to our D and I was just trying to buy time and get in the forechecker’s way and I don’t know where my stick hit him but obviously it hit him high and they called the penalty and they scored on it and they took the momentum from us. Obviously it’s a terrible feeling especially the way we played in the second period and came out in the third and we were fighting back to get that extra point.”
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/13 at 10:46 AM
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Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Rangers enter tonight’s game looking to snap a brutal two-game losing streak, in which they’ve been outscored by an aggregate 15-2 by the Sharks and Ducks, including Thursday’s 6-0 loss at Anaheim. Of course, the Blues, starting the season on a five-game homestand, have won their first three by a combined 14-4 and are first in the NHL on the power play with four goals in 10 chances (40.0 percent).
A switch to the Rangers’ lineup not indicated during Friday’s practice in Anaheim is that defenseman Justin Falk will make his Rangers’ debut after being a healthy scratch the first four games. So Alain Vigneault will dress seven defensemen and scratch right wing Arron Asham.
On paper, it’s a bit of a goalie mismatch as Jaroslav Halak (3-0-0, 1.34 goals-against, .948 save percentage), finally healthy and with a heightened conditioning level, per Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, opposes Rangers’ backup Marty Biron (0-0-0, 9.78 GAA, .762 save percentage). Of course, on paper doesn’t really matter once the puck drops.
“I expect a good game from him,” Vigneault said of Biron. “I expect him to go in goal and stop the puck, that’s what goaltenders are supposed to do, and give us a chance. This is a real tough league, every team is good and one area you need to be good night in and night out to get a chance is in goal and we needy Marty tonight.”
Vigneault is looking for the Rangers to cut down on their turnovers, though when asked about Hitchcock’s opinion that, oftentimes at the start of the season, defensemen will lag behind forwards in their play, Vigneault laughed nervously and said, “I think right now it’s real important for us to not point the finger at any specific position, whether it e goaltender Ds or forwards.”
Rangers lines/defense pairs:
Brad Richards-Derick Brassard-Ryan Callahan
Benoit Pouliot-Brian Boyle-Jesper Fast
Taylor Pyatt-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Derek Dorsett-Dominic Moore (only 11 forwards)
Marc Staal-Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh-Anton Stralman
John Moore-Justin Falk/Michael Del Zotto
Marty Biron (0-0-0, 9.78 GAA, .762 save percentage)
Blues’ lines/defense pairs
Alexander Steen-David Backes-T.J. Oshie
Brenden Morrow-Derek Roy-Chris Stewart
Jaden Schwartz-Patrik Berglund-Vladimir Tarasenko
Vladimir Sobotka-Maxim Lapierre-Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester-Alex Pietrangelo
Jordan Leopold-Kevin Shattenkirk
Barret Jackman-Roman Polak
Jaroslav Halak (3-0-0, 1.34, .948 save percentage)
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/12 at 07:22 PM
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While it may seem like the Rangers have few to no answers for their rocky 1-3-0 start, which includes Tuesday’s 9-2 loss at San Jose and Thursday’s 6-0 loss at Anaheim, both Blues coach Ken Hitchcock and Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk can understand what’s going wrong and, possibly, why, as the Rangers begin their first season under Alain Vigneault..
For Hitchcock, actually, it seems simple. One of the first things he does when he gets his team’s schedule is check to see if they play at San Jose on the second night of a back-to-back set, as the Rangers did after beating the Kings in Los Angeles, 3-1, on Monday.
“LA, that’s the Rangers’ team,” Hitchcock said after the Blues’ morning skate. “Back to back games into San Jose is a nightmare, it destroys you. Anaheim comes from being unnerved.”
Hitchcock’s thinking is that the way the physical and strong skating Sharks play, particularly on their home ice, makes it difficult for a team with tired legs playing its second game in two nights to compete.
The Rangers are in the midst of a nine-game road trip to open the season with Madison Square Garden finalizing its renovations. That also meant the Rangers played all six preseason games on the road, including four in five nights in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Las Vegas. Also, the team spent three practice days in Banff, Alberta. In addition to the travel, the Rangers are trying to acclimate themselves to Vigneault’s system as compared to ex-coach John Tortorella.
Hitchcock said it typically takes 30-45 days for a new coach to implement his system so the players feel comfortable with it, and the range can be based on the preseason schedule.
“Those poor guys,” Shattenkirk said. “They probably want to sleep in their own beds. It’s a big adjustment, especially when you take that on the road right away.
“We look at the Rangers and we know they have a talented team,” Shattenkirk added. “We know they didn’t have the best two games. It does scare you. They’re going to come out with that fire. If they do start playing their game, it’s going to be a difficult matchup.”
One thing the Ducks spoke about prior to their win over the Rangers was jumping on the Rangers early because they figured the Rangers might be a fragile team coming off a 9-2 loss.
Interestingly, one of the things Hitchcock has noticed about his Blues is they tend to be too “amped up” at the start of games and they don’t start playing better into they settle into the game. Hitchcock said the Blues have a tendency to give up too many odd-man rushes at the start as a result of being amped up.
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/12 at 03:56 PM
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It was a very optional, optional morning skate for the Rangers today in St. Louis as they look to snap a brutal two-game slide against the 3-0-0 Blues.
Here’s more on the matchup/Rangers’ problems from today’s Record.
Defenseman Justin Falk, a healthy scratch for the fifth straight game was on the ice along with fourth-line wing Arron Asham plus starting goalie Marty Biron, who took shots for about 15 minutes before Henrik Lundqvist came on the ice to get his work in.
Biron, making his first start of the season, said he’s not worried about trying to put too much pressure on himself tonight.
“I think you have to trust the preparation,” Biron said. “You have to trust the work that you do. You have to look not so much at the big picture but the little things you have to do within the game. I think that’s really where the focus has got to be for everybody, not just me. To achieve small steps together that can lead to the ultimate goal that you want.
“Obviously nobody is happy with what’s happened,” Biron added. “At the same time we have a group of guys that battle really hard and want it really badly. When you have that group of guys the effort will be there in desperation time.”
Biron said it was important for the Rangers to take “little baby steps toward the big goal.”
“We’ve talked about the Anaheim game (Thursday’s 6-0 loss), the San Jose game (Tuesday’s 9-2 loss) at great length,” Biron said. “There’s a lot of things in the game we’re doing well and there’s a lot of things we’re doing terribly as well. You’ve got to keep the good things going but the things that are not so good you have to at least minimize that. We’ve talked about doing the little things, getting the puck in deep and not turning it over. Those are habits you want to get in the team and not let it go the other way.”
Biron added he doesn’t put much stock in his relief outing against the Sharks, when he allowed five goals on 21 shots.
“You have to be aware of certain things in the game that you have to be better,” Biron said. “But you have to be preparing for the work in practice and what tonight’s game is, not so much what a game four days ago was. And that’s the mindset.”
Lundqvist, meanwhile, will have a few days of practice before his presumably starts Wednesday at Washington. He frequently went back during his chat with the media today for the need to make better on-ice decisions.
“It’s just doing the same things I’ve been doing for the last eight years, just work hard, just try to be positive and do the things I always do,” Lundqvist said. “Most of it is how you think and how you see the game. A lot of times it comes down to making good decisions. The last few games it’s been a lot of good things but it’s been some poor decisions by me also and that’s something I need to cut down on. There’s parts of the game where I feel this is how I need to play to help the team play. And then there are other parts where I need to be better. I don’t think I need to complicate it, just realize I have to be better. The only way to get to the level I want to be is to try to work hard and to think positive and know we’re all going to turn it around.”
For instance, the Ducks’ goal when Lundqvist ranged far from his net in an unsuccessful attempt to clear the puck. Lundqvist said he needs to realize he’s pretty successful at stopping breakways so, perhaps, the correct move is to play to his strength rather than gamble.
“That’s the tricky part,” Lundqvist said. “When things aren’t going well you try to do too much. You need to stick to your game plan and keep it simple. All of us want to start winning and get that feeling in here. It’s important you stick to what you’re good at. That’s all I have to focus on. It is a challenge, but we’re four games in and we didn’t get the start we wanted. I’m going to take the next couple of days and work as hard as I can.
“Of course I’m disappointed in the way I’m playing but it’s important to stay positive,” Lundqvist added. “You always go through stretches every year where things go against you and it’s tough but you just have to believe you’re going to get through it and it’ll go fast. This has been a real test so far.”
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/12 at 02:57 PM
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Friday, October 11, 2013
The shell-shocked Rangers, per Elias the first NHL team to lose consecutive games in one season by at least six goals in nearly 13 years, practiced today in Anaheim before flying to St. Louis for Saturday night’s game against the powerful Blues.
Coach Alain Vigneault told the media in Anaheim that Marty Biron would make his first start of the season against the Blues. Biron came on in relief of Henrik Lundqvist - “relief” probably not the most apt description - in Tuesday night’s 9-2 loss at San Jose.
Biron allowed five goals on 21 shots in 27:50 to the Sharks, including rookie Tomas Hertl’s between his legs, over the goalie’s shoulder trick shot that has sparked so much debate as to whether it was appropriate. Not to mention the Sharks’ Joe Thornton describing what he would do if he scored four goals, as Hertl did, in the most lewdly descriptive way ever.
Henrik Lundqvist, through four starts this season, is 1-3-0 with a say-what 4.31 goals-against average and a you’re-kidding-me .879 save percentage (15 goals allowed on 124 shots).
Just a hunch here, and based on nothing Vigneault has said so far this season, but I’m not convinced yet that Vigneault is sold on Biron as the man who should be Lundqvist’s backup. Yes, Biron “beat out” quasi-“challenges” from ex-Devil Johan Hedberg and Hartford (AHL) No. 1 Cam Talbot to retain his job but something tells me Vigneault won’t stick with Biron long if Biron struggles when given the chance to start. It sounds like Vigneault, because of the Olympics, wants to start his backup at least 20 times this season.
Unfortunately for Biron, the big, physical Blues certainly won’t be a comfortable test. The Blues get to the crease, have big bodies to provide screens and, so far in this young season, are living up to the Stanley Cup hype they’ve brought out in some prognosticators. They are 3-0-0 (all at home as they’ve started the season on a five-game homestand) and have outscored opponents 14-4.
Last season, as John Tortorella used Lundqvist more heavily than he would have preferred, Biron was 2-2-1 in six appearances (out of 48 games) with a 2.32 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
Meanwhile, from today’s practice, the top three lines were tweaked though there have been no call-ups from Hartford (AHL).
Brad Richards-Derick Brassard-Ryan Callahan
Benoit Pouilot-Brian Boyle-Jesper Fast
Taylor Pyatt-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Derek Dorsett-Dominic Moore-Arron Asham
Marc Staal-Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh-Anton Stralman
John Moore-Michael Del Zotto
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/11 at 04:34 PM
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Thursday, October 10, 2013
There’s no ways to mince words about this right now. At this point, the Rangers are a bad, very bad, hockey team.
Again, luckily for them, the season is only four games old. But it was an incredibly disappointing display Thursday night at Anaheim as they suffered their second straight blowout loss. The Ducks led by three after a first period in which they outshot the Rangers, 17-3, with the Rangers seemingly committing at least 17 defensive zone turnovers. Though the Rangers outshot the Ducks the rest of the way, it still turned into a 6-0 loss and the Rangers’ first shutout loss of the young season.
The Rangers are now 1-3-0 and that impressive 3-1 win at Los Angeles on Monday night seems ages ago. Especially since the next game is Saturday at St. Louis, where the Blues have started the season by winning three straight home games and outscoring opponents 14-4. The Rangers, meanwhile, have been outscored 20-6, including 15-2 the last two games with Tuesday night’s 9-2 loss at San Jose. Rick Nash, of course, will miss at least Saturday’s game after flying back to New York before Thursday’s game after suffering a head injury on a high shoulder hit from the Sharks’ Brad Stuart on Tuesday.
The Rangers practice today in Anaheim before flying to St. Louis and then, immediately after Saturday’s game, back to New York where they’ll have three practices to go back to the drawing board before facing the Capitals in Washington on Wednesday.
I jotted down some notes watching the loss to the Ducks but the Cliff Notes are the Rangers are not playing responsible enough defense, leaving players open at the crease, for instance, Ryan Getzlaf on the Ducks’ first goal. A lot of that stems from, seemingly, confusion over assignments. For instance, on Teemu Selanne’s goal to make it 2-0, two Rangers chased the puck behind the net, leaving just one lone defender to cover the crease. Not enough.
In addition to missing defensive assignments and not taking care of the puck better - gaffes by both Anton Stralman and Benoit Pouilot in the defensive zone led to the Ducks’ fifth goal.
And, of course, the Rangers had the mother of all screw-ups early in the second period as Pouilot and Del Zotto crashed into each other, Henrik Lundqvist unsuccessfully came way out of the net to clear the puck and the Ducks wound up with two shots at a vacated net, going ahead 4-0 on ex-Senator Jakob Silfverberg’s goal.
In addition to sloppy defensive work, there was some stupidity thrown in for good measure. Derek Dorsett put the Rangers in a four-minute disadvantage by being penalized for instigating and tripping when he fought Bryan Allen in the first period. And Arron Asham, though he was looking to spark the Rangers, who were still in the game at the time, by fighting Patrick Maroon at 5:29 of the first period, put the Ducks on a power play because he took his own helmet off - then was nice enough to take off Maroon’s helmet at Maroon’s behest so Maroon didn’t receive a two-minute minor for removing his own helmet.
Obviously, there will be discussion as to why/how the Rangers have yet to adapt to new coach Alain Vigneault’s defensive system, as being taught by assistant Ulf Samuelsson. Yes, this system does call for different assignments in terms of crease positioning from ex-coach John Tortorella’s method but these are professional hockey players, they should be able to make the adjustment.
My own opinion is that these last two games are the residue from the Rangers’ dysfunctional preseason - all six games on the road, a mini-camp in Banff, four games in five nights necessitating the Rangers take 39 players on the trip, limiting their ability to develop on-ice cohesion amongst their regulars in the preseason.
But there can’t be any excuses. Vigneault simply needs to do a better job coaching and the players need to make more of an effort to get up to speed. Now.
To me, what made this game worse than the 9-2 loss to the Sharks was that, at the morning skate, you heard all the cliched quotes about having pride in playing for the emblem, and wanting to be back on the ice to put that blowout loss behind them, and being excited to show that the 9-2 loss wasn’t the real Rangers, that the 3-1 win over the Kings represented the true team.
And that was all out the window quickly as the Ducks, knowing the Rangers might be fragile after the loss to the Sharks, successfully forechecked and pressured the Rangers into too many early mistakes.
Finally, for the Rangers, if Henrik Lundqvist doesn’t play better, nothing else will matter. Sure, he was left exposed on several of the Ducks’ goals and perhaps the first period score deserved to be 5-0 instead of 3-0. Still, he’s being paid $6.8 million (and possibly seeking $9 million annually) for a reason. He has to bail this team out, starting Saturday in St. Louis.
Not that any positives can be drawn from this stinker but here’s a couple of things that perhaps bode well:
- The Rangers killed off all six of the Ducks’ power plays.
- Unlike the Sharks’ blowout, the Rangers never stopped competing against the Ducks despite the early and large deficit.
- Brad Richards, despite the incompetence on the ice, still looked confident in his game in the third period. Only a nice glove save kept him from scoring his fourth goal in three games. He and Derek Stepan were reunited in the second period.
That’s about all I’ve got.
I’m off to St. Louis this morning so, yes, I’m back with the team after missing the first four games. If the Rangers suddenly start playing well, I’d like some commission for bringing them good luck. I’m still expecting the Rangers to recall either J.T. Miller or Chris Kreider from Hartford (AHL) today.
As for some statistical notes:
- Brian Boyle tied for the team-high with five shots, and led all skaters with 16 faceoff wins (16-21, 76%) in 18:21 of ice time.
- Richards and Ryan Callahan both registered five shots in the contest.
- Dan Girardi and Derick Brassard tied for the game-high with four hits apiece. Girardi also led all skaters with 22:39 of ice time.
- Marc Staal and Ryan McDonagh tied for the team-high with two blocked shots apiece. McDonagh leads the team and is tied for sixth in the NHL with 11 blocked shots on the season.
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/10 at 10:04 PM
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Rick Nash will miss at least the Rangers’ next two games after suffering a head injury on Brad Stuart’s shoulder check in Tuesday night’s 9-2 loss at San Jose, for which the Sharks defenseman was suspended three games by the NHL on Wednesday.
The Rangers announced today that Nash has been sent back to New York so he will not dress for tonight’s game at Anaheim or Saturday’s game at St. Louis.
Newsday’s Steve Zipay, out in Anaheim for today’s morning skate, further reports that Nash will not be undergoing further evaluations, he just does not feel well enough to play at this time. After Saturday, the Rangers do not play again until Wednesday at Washington so Nash and the Rangers do have the luxury of some built-in recovery time.
With Nash unable to play, rookie Jesper Fast will re-enter the Rangers’ lineup after making his NHL debut in the season-opening 4-1 loss at Phoenix, then being a healthy scratch the previous two games.
So far, the Rangers have not recalled a forward from Hartford (AHL) but without Nash it would seem logical the Rangers would bring up an extra forward for Saturday’s game against the Blues.
Meanwhile, from the New York media at today’s morning skate in Anaheim, here are the new line combinations and defensive pairs (note that, for now at least, the Brad Richards to left wing experiment is over):
Benoit Pouilot-Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan
Taylor Pyatt-Derek Stepan-Jesper Fast
Brian Boyle-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Derek Dorsett-Dominic Moore-Arron Asham
Marc Staal-Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh-Anton Stralman
John Moore-Michael Del Zotto
No announcement yet but I have to believe Henrik Lundqvist is starting.
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/10 at 02:38 PM
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Wednesday, October 09, 2013
The NHL has suspended Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart three games and fined him $55,384.62 for his hit on Rick Nash in Tuesday night’s 9-2 Rangers loss that left the right wing with a head injury.
In explaining the suspension, NHL Director of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan said in reviewing the “illegal check to the head,” it was determined that while Stuart did “many of the things our department asks” when approaching such a check, Stuart unnecessarily extended the left side of his body, allowing Stuart, who is two inches shorter than the 6-foot-4 Nash, to make contact with Nash’s head with his left shoulder.
Shanahan also noted that Nash did not contribute to the severity of the hit along the boards, properly looking up to peek at the play, turning his back and not doing anything to lower his head into the oncoming collision.
Nash sat out the last two periods of Tuesday’s embarrassing 9-2 loss at San Jose due to a head injury after Stuart caught him high on an elbowing penalty at 2:32 of the first period. The Rangers did not practice on Wednesday so there was no update on Nash’s status, though he did miss four games last season due to a concussion.
Stuart had a disciplinary hearing via teleconference with Shanahan on Wednesday.
“I just stepped up and hit the guy,” Stuart said after the Sharks’ practice on Wednesday, per the San Jose Mercury News. “I’ve seen the replay. I didn’t leave my feet. I didn’t target the head. So it depends on how they want to look at it, I guess. Apparently he has a concussion so we’ll see.
“I think it might have been my first or second shift and I was just looking to get involved physically,” Stuart added. “Like I said, I didn’t charge, I didn’t leave my feet and I wasn’t running around or anything. But you’re looking to get yourself involved, for sure.”
“I got an elbowing penalty, but you can clearly see that my elbow is down,” Stuart continued. “The video it appears I hit his shoulder and that was the main point of contact. What gave him a concussion, I don’t know, but that’s how I saw it.”
Meanwhile, the Rangers opted not to call up an extra forward from Hartford (AHL) so rookie Jesper Fast will re-enter the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past two games if Nash is unable to play.
Fast made his NHL debut by logging 10:13 with one shot as the Rangers lost their season opener, 4-1, at Phoenix a week ago.
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/09 at 06:47 PM
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The Sharks’ Brad Stuart will have a disciplinary hearing via teleconference with the NHL today after hitting the Rangers’ high with apparently his shoulder at 2:32 of the first period. Nash played the rest of the first period, logging 5:53 over nine shifts before missing the final two periods. Nash told the media in San Jose after the game he felt off and had a headache, though the fact that he actually talked to the media can be seen as a positive sign. Stuart received a two-minute minor for elbowing.
There were certainly no other positives in the Rangers’ 9-2 loss, a defeated captain Ryan Callahan said “embarrassed” the Rangers. As well they should be. Based on the media reports from the game, there was a team meeting immediately after the game.
Still, this was just one of 82 games and just the third game of the season for the Rangers (1-2-0). So even though there were many, many troubling things in this game for the Rangers, it’s still way early enough to say it’s all correctable. Safe to say, though, between the overly-travel heavy preseason and the rocky start to the season, this is not what Alain Vigneault envisioned to start his Rangers’ tenure.
The Rangers do not practice today, due to CBA rules, so it’s unclear whether there will be any update on Nash today. Nash, of course, missed four games last season with concussion symptoms after taking a high hit from the Bruins’ Milan Lucic.
As for the game itself, I watched to the bitter end and jotted down notes and I’m sure nobody really wants to review what happened. Perhaps the best move of the night was made by my wife, who, at 10:26 p.m., turned to me, apologized and said she couldn’t stay up anymore and was going to bed rather than watch the game with me, which she wanted to do (because, if you think about it, how often am I really home to watch a Rangers’ game with my family since, 99.9 percent of the time, I’m at the game? But I digress…) So she got three more hours of sleep than I did and had sweet dreams instead of a hockey nightmare.
The Sharks made a point of acknowledging they wanted to push the Rangers early since the Rangers were on a back-to-back off Monday night’s impressive 3-1 win at Los Angeles. And the Rangers responded well at the start after Stuart’s elbowing penalty and a subsequent too many men penalty on San Jose put the Rangers on a five-on-three advantage, which led to Brad Richards’ third goal in two games. Two good things there, one that the Rangers actually scored on a two-man advantage given their struggles in that department last season and, in a small sample, Richards seems to have regained the on-ice confidence he so lacked last season.
Still, it all turned to dung pretty quickly for the Rangers as Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (any one else craving a pickle right now?) tied it with a shorthanded goal after Ryan Callahan’s backhanded pass attempt in the right corner of the Rangers’ zone went off a referee (sorry, didn’t get the number) and stayed in the zone.
The Rangers were outshot 15-7 in the first period yet trailed only 2-1 thanks to some good work by Henrik Lundqvist.
Of course, to go back to that phrase, it really turned to dung in a MUBAR (messed up beyond all recognition) second period. The Rangers were outshot (23-8), outskated and out and out outclassed over the next 20 minutes. Lundqvist was pulled after the Rangers fell behind 4-1. Marty Biron entered and immediately gave up a goal as the Sharks scored three times in 1:23. Rookie Tomas Hertl may have wrapped up the Calder Trophy with a four-goal effort. And nothing typified the Rangers’ night as much as the sixth goal, when Taylor Pyatt’s attempted pass hit the knob of an abandoned stick in the neutral zone and Hertl beat Biron through the five hole on the ensuing breakaway.
Here’s what I saw from the Rangers in the second period - a team that stopped competing. And that can never, ever happen, regardless of the score. But between the Rangers’ defensive lapses and the Sharks’ forechecking, San Jose spent the period buzzing the Rangers’ crease. Sure, the Rangers were playing on back-to-back nights. Get used to it, there are 12 more such sets this seasons. And that’s a light load in this compressed NHL season due to the Olympics. The Devils are playing 22 back-to-back sets.
Vigneault had said prior to Monday’s game he was thinking of getting Biron a start at some point this week. I think Thursday at Anaheim might have been a strong candidate before the Rangers played at St. Louis on Saturday. Now, I’d expect Vigneault to go back to Lundqvist against the Ducks, in no small part because Lundqvist’s head will explode if he has to sit on this loss until Saturday.
Some notes and quotes are below…
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/09 at 10:46 AM
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Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Rick Nash missed four games last season due to a concussion after taking a high hit from the Bruins’ Milan Lucic.
Now, the Rangers have to worry about a similar absence.
Nash took a high elbow from the Sharks’ Brad Stuart at 2:32 of the first period Tuesday night. The power forward played the rest of the first period, logging 5:53 with one shot. But Nash did not return to the bench to start the second period - very noticeable as Mats Zuccarello took Nash’s spot on the first power play unit to start the period - and the Rangers’ shortly afterwards announced Nash would not return to the game as a result of the hit.
Nobody is saying concussion yet. But Nash certainly looked stunned initially as he took the elbow. Nash didn’t start the power play but was back on the ice slightly under two minutes later.
The Rangers next play Thursday at Anaheim and rookie Jesper Fast is the lone extra forward currently on the roster. The Rangers could fly somebody West if need be - both J.T. Miller, demoted to Hartford (AHL) after the Rangers’ first game, and Chris Kreider had strong weekends for the Wolf Pack After playing the Ducks, the Rangers are at St. Louis on Saturday before returning to the New York area after Saturday’s game. After that, they don’t play until Wednesday at Washington.
The shame, of course, is that Nash and linemate Brad Richards were both playing well to start the season after a lethargic preseason. Richards opened the scoring against the Sharks with his third goal of the season and Nash had two assists and a team-high six shots in Monday night’s impressive 3-1 win at Los Angeles.
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Posted by Andrew Gross on 10/08 at 10:24 PM
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