When it rains, it pours pucks past Henrik Lundqvist, boos from the Garden crowd, and injuries to key players for these head-scratching and reeling Rangers.
Tuesday night, the Blueshirts lost their second straight, 4-1, to the mediocre Nashville Predators and third-string goalie Carter Hutton. More devastatingly, they lost captain Ryan Callahan for four-to-six weeks to a second-degree sprain of the MCL in his left knee.
“The only thing I know right now is it can only go up,” said Lundqvist (22 saves), who looked and sounded as discouraged as he was on Oct. 10 after a 6-0 loss in Anaheim during that disastrous season-opening West Coast road trip. “You try to be positive. You have to. There are so many games left … If I look back at all the years I’ve played here, this is definitely the toughest stretch I’ve had, both as a group but also personally.”
Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
Rangers’ John Moore (r.) is in the middle of a scrum with the Preds.
The Rangers (15-16-1) slipped below .500 for the first time since Nov. 19 and fell to 1-14-0 when their opponent scores first; 1-3-1 in their last five games; and 0-2-1 to open this nine-game homestand. Vigneault also revealed alternate captain Marc Staal suffered a concussion on Saturday night’s shoulder to the chin from Devils forward Reid Boucher, though doctors don’t believe it’s as serious as the Feb. 2011 concussion that kept Staal out the first 36 games of the subsequent 2011-12 season.
Even at full strength, though, this roster has not demonstrated the skills that Vigneault prefers. He said so himself, using the word “personnel” for the second straight postgame press conference. You hear that, Glen Sather?
“I’ve got an idea of how I’d like (the team) to play,” Vigneault said. “I’m not quite sure we have the personnel to play the type of game I’d like to play, which is more offensive-oriented … I’m not saying we won’t get there, but I’m thinking at this time right now it is a big challenge for us, and we’ve got to be more defensive-oriented for the time being.”
Those comments came just hours after Vigneault lost his patience with a morning question about shuffling his forward lines. He lamented his team’s poor “compete level,” asserted that he’s “got some latitude here” and “I’m trying,” and cited the Detroit Red Wings as an example of a team that can “play hard” and “battle like hell” regardless of personnel.
Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
Rangers’ Dominic Moore fires the puck in the first period.
The Rangers at least responded by showing more fire and “finishing more checks,” as defenseman Ryan McDonagh said, with three new forwards in the lineup: Dominic Moore, Derek Dorsett and Arron Asham. Rick Nash scored the lone Blueshirt goal, his 600th career NHL point, to cut into a 2-0 Nashville lead 6:38 into the second period.
At what point, though, is it too late to endure these types of morale-sinking losing streaks?
“Three games ago is too late,” Nash said.
Lundqvist, who slipped to 1-2-1 since signing his seven-year contract extension last week, couldn’t bail his team out of failed defensive coverage on first-period goals by Nashville forwards Nick Spaling and Rich Clune. Those breakdowns happened after Callahan injured his knee while throwing a hit in the offensive zone on Predators defenseman Victor Bartley 9:43 into the first period. Bartley spun into the glass, and his leg whipped around to jam Callahan’s left leg awkwardly and upright against the boards.
Callahan missed the first game of the season due to offseason shoulder surgery and seven straight from Oct. 19 through Nov. 2 after breaking his left thumb blocking a shot on Oct. 16 in Washington. Now, he is out until mid-January.
Who knows what the team will look like when he returns.
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