Blues 4, Rangers 1
The New York Rangers (17-8-4) lost to the St. Louis Blues (18-9-3) by the score of 4-1, tonight. For a boxscore and recap go to Yahoo! Sports.
...that's as bad as it gets Rangers fans. Team slept walked through that one. Very rarely do you see this team lack effort and energy the way they did tonight.
...hmmm, energy? Effort? Wonder where the Rangers can find some of that. 11-3-1 with Avery in the line-up, 6-5-3 without. Nuff said.
...teams who don't work hard don't get power plays.
...McD's game seems to be sagging a bit lately. Wonder if all those minutes are catching up with the young defenseman.
...Rangers 2-3-1 since HBO began filming. Just sayin'.
...Rangers could have used Callahan's grandmother out there tonight. (h/t to Desmond L.)
...zero points and a -3 in the last two games for Richards. Also only won 4-of-23 faceoffs tonight.
...at least EC was in there in case the game went to a shootout.
...loved seeing Hagelin get some time with Richards and Gaborik. He's getting better every game.
...Dubinsky couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat right now. This has to be rock bottom for him, no?
...i dare someone to give me a reason why Boyle shouldn't be a healthy scratch on Saturday night.
...when was the last time a Rangers team figured out an opponent's trap?
...poor Hank.
...got to give Del Zotto credit for fighting his way out of whatever went wrong last season. He's been real solid this year, especially since Sauer went down.
...over 20 minutes for Stralman?!?!?!?!
...off tomorrow then in Phoenix Saturday night.
For post game quotes and video click "Read More" tab below.
QUOTES (via Blueshirts United):
Brad Richards...
"We just didn't do enough tonight to win the hockey game. We were definitely outplayed tonight.
"We weren't good enough to win that hockey game. They were better; they were hungrier; can't worry about what they do when we are not doing enough to even have a chance to win the game."
Henrik Lundqvist...
"That third goal, you gotta be kidding me. But it happens. It's just frustrating when it happens. The difference, though, in winning and losing is small, small details. We won't overthink this. We could've played better. We just need to keep working hard."
VIDEO:
Game highlights & analysis...
John Tortorella post game...
Players post game...
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Time to get rid of Dubi. He's a mediocre player at best. Yes, he plays with heart & puts in 100% but he doesn't score. I wasn't thrilled when they resigned him after arbitration but now he's worthless.
All comments spot-on, Kevin. Truly, an unremarkable performance. Played real soft tonight. Richard takes a two-hander and nothing is done about it. Glad when Rupp gets back into the lineup, so he and Prust can bang some bodies out there. Separately, on another board, and six periods and one goal ago, I suggested the Rangers may have to trade for some more goal scoring and speed (maybe parting with some of their defensive strength when some of the guys come back). We saw what Hagelin could do with his speed this evening. Anyway, Gaborik, Richards and Callahan can't carry the load when guys like Boyle and Dubi are invisible. What's more, as good as Gaborik is playing, he is tied in goals with Scott Hartnell of the Flyers... enough said. This team simply does not have a balanced enough attack.
This is 1 of 3 games I didn't get the chance to watch this year and by the sound of it I'm glad I missed this one. Anytime torts starts shuffling the lines u know as fans we r in for a longggg night. Once wolski and rupp r 100% you can expect to see a lot of healthy scratches from boyle, prust and even dubi. It's so crazy that just a week ago the rangers looked almost unbeatable and now they're skating around like its their first time on the ice together. Either way there is still 53 games to be played so there's still plenty of time to fix mistakes and get our act together.
@ATCRyan Every team goes through some kind of lull during the season. But only the good ones are able to overcome the adversity.
Since Torts has been coach, anyone who has struggled mightily has been sent down to Hartford. Why is it that he hasn't sent Dubi down, even for a few games to get himself straight?
@rwblueshirts Maybe he feels Dubi's has a fragile mindset and sending him down could be a negative. Just speculation though.
indeed. bears mentioning the speed and hustle level of Hagelin. Kid's got skill and passion. he makes that obvious
Just got back from the game. I live about an hour from St. Louis so I love both teams and my wife and I usually go when the Rangers are in town. Just a horrible game overall tonight. Watching a game so unfortunately one sided is disappointing for any hockey fan no matter who you are rooting for. I will say it looked like one of the only guys that played his heart out tonight was Hagelin, that kid was all over the place.
@jeremyl85 Yeah, I don't expect we're going to see Hagelin headed back to Hartford anytime soon.
furthermore, I also think Girardi's game has been slipping along with McD's. He's getting in the habit of making the lazy outlet pass (around the boards/or to no one in particular), which seems to be his achilles heel. That casual breakout pass to no one with 2:20 to go and an empty net exemplifies his current carelessness with the puck. Re: Richards, the guy needs to be a lot better off the puck and (on the puck as well - he's looked rather soft recently, to be quite honest). Particularly, in our zone, where his D coverage has been pretty terrible these past two games. I'm sorry, but to be a -4 on an elite team with a great goaltender is unacceptable. And it's no coincidence that he has that rating.
cb1: agree with you re: dubi. Sort of. He also missed the net by 5 ft from 8 ft out. i didn't think Mitchell was bad. just didn't get much ice time.
pathetic... No one could help Gaby (who i thought skated well) tonight. I'd rather see Prust sit. He's a non-factor at this point, and looks tired.
@Billy_Beeman Agree, Prust looks exhausted. He still seems to be going after pucks and trying to be a spark for the team, but something is missing. I really wonder if there is an injury he isn't sharing with us or the team. He still hangs in there in his fights, but he can't keep taking on everybody. Rupp needs to come back and take some of that load off Prust's shoulders. The player who bothers me the most at this junction is Boyle. He doesn't use his size, he doesn't seem to be skating hard (though that could be because he is with Hagelin), he just isn't doing anything. With Hagelin on his line, all he needs to do is plant in front of the net. I know I'm not the first to suggest this solution, but at 6'7"/245, with a young sniper on the wing he has to contribute more than he is doing right now.
@cb1 Not sure he set it up. Looked more like a fortuitous bounce onto Del Zotto's stick.
It boggles my mind that Avery is the healthy scratch over guys like Boyle, Christensen, Mitchell, and even Feds. At least Avery is noticeable when he plays. The only reason I knew Christensen played tonight is because he got jabbed in the face, the others were just as invisible
Boyle a healthy scratch as well as Prust and EC. Stralman looked good tonight the guy can skate with the puck. Dubinsky needs to be traded he is young and there will be a team that will sucker to get him. Rupp, wolski, Avery should replace Prust, Boyle, EC
@TheKing Not ready to trade Dubinsky. Still very young and has proven he can be a solid NHLer. It'll come. He's too good for it not to.
@KevinDeLury@TheKing Maybe they'll scratch Dubi when Rupp returns? ...of course there's no need for EC to stick around, but something has to be done to snap Dubi into his game. He made some beauty plays last year. I miss seeing that.
@TheKing@gravity@deleted_2065836_andy11@KevinDeLury@NH_NYR_88
This is what I was alluding to when I mentioned them tiring of Torts games a bit. The whole locker room (aside from EC obviously) seem to get along well with Avery. He's close friends with three of your biggest players in Hank, Gabby and Richards. I just have to wonder how long this whole game of favorites is going to last before it starts tearing at the fabric of the team a bit. The guy loves New York and has gone on record of saying he doesn't want to play anywhere else. Why punish him the way he does and then go about switching up the lines constantly to try to make it work when it obviously isn't right now?
@gravity @jeremyl85 @deleted_2065836_andy11 @KevinDeLury
@NH_NYR_88
David Backes was skating around like a king, I guarantee you Avery would have knocked him off his throne and got the Rangers going. I played the game never at this level obviously but a big part of the game is energy and emotions and that's what Avery brings every night. I have to say he has handled himself very good with the mistreatment from torts. He is very loyal to the team. I think his commitment it up their with Hank.
@jeremyl85@TheKing@deleted_2065836_andy11@KevinDeLury@NH_NYR_88 I don't think the team is quitting on Torts. Too much has been proven this year with his system. It's just the ups and down's of season. Plus I don't think the HBO camera's are helping. PS. don't look now but the Devil's are getting hot.
@TheKing@deleted_2065836_andy11@NH_NYR_88 That's the problem. We all beg for Avery, but if Torts is only going to play him five minutes what's the difference.
@TheKing@deleted_2065836_andy11@KevinDeLury@NH_NYR_88 The guy hasn't played in half the games and is still 8th place on the team overall in goals. I think that kinda shows who should be getting scratched and who shouldn't. I love Boyle, Prust, and Dubi as much as the next guy, but why aren't they getting scratched or sent down? I think the bias coaching is getting more and more evident as the season goes on. After last nights game I have to wonder if the team is quitting on him at all.
@deleted_2065836_andy11 @KevinDeLury @NH_NYR_88
Guys I love Avery I'm a big fan. But I truly believe if he got the deserved and equal minutes he would be more effective than Prust, Boyle, Mitchell, and especially EC. Do you guys agree? I think Avery can play the game and produce points
@KevinDeLury@TheKing And I'm sick of talking about Avery. It's over guys. Even if Torts puts him on the roster it will just be more of the same BS. I feel like it's not worth the energy anymore.
@TheKingagree with you on stralman...looked really good tonight...skated with confidence and getting bumped up to second pair was well earned...aves and rupper both have to be in next game as both provide a spark that we are clearly lacking...EC has to sit and i say sit dubi for a few games to get his head on straight..hes not playing terrible but just a wake up call and time to help find the net
