Capitals 4, Rangers 1
The New York Rangers (22-9-4) lost to the Washington Capitals (18-15-2) by the score of 4-1, tonight. For a boxscore and recap go to Yahoo! Sports.
...listen, you can't win them all but you have to wonder if this team just wants to get to the Winter Classic at this point. Playing against a desperate Caps team didn't help.
...in case you haven't noticed, Richards has just two points (2g) in the last 10 games with a -3.
...i don't blame Del Zotto for fumbling a bouncing puck on the blueline, but I do for losing his man Johanssen on the goal two seconds later. And what was he doing on the fourth goal?
...didn't take Hagelin long to go from the penthouse to the outhouse with a -3 and being dropped from the Richards line.
...while Callahan is an absolute warrior out there, I cringe every time I see him throw his body in front of a shot. You have to wonder if the Rangers would be better off if he didn't do that. See the end of last season.
...Biron pretty much left out to dry tonight. Not much defensive help.
...solid game from Mitchell who was great along the boards tonight.
...did the GAS line miss the stop off in Washington and head straight to Florida?
...remember when the Rangers were winning faceoffs and scoring on the power play? Me neither.
...not really a fan of the fourth line right now. Just not doing it for me.
...off tomorrow then at Florida Firday night.
For post game quotes & video click the "Read More" tab below.
QUOTES:
Brian Boyle...
"We didn't take care of the puck, and that burned us. We don't want to give the puck away, we want them to earn it. Those are the things we don't want to do, and in this league there aren't a lot of comebacks, so we really beat ourselves."
Jeff Woywitka...
"Obviously they have some players that transition quick and make things happen quick, and if we are not smart in the right areas they can burn us on it because they have the talent to do that. We weren't strong enough in those areas tonight, and they got a couple goals off of (turnovers). Now we have to learn from it and move on."
VIDEO:
Game highlights...
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Biron, left out to dry, is still a better stick handler than Henrik... Del Zottos blue line TO was bad..
they arent going to win every single game. however, last nights effort was mediocre at best. theyre definitely excited for monday and thats taking over.
Somehow missed Dubi's goal. Looks like he might be heating up. Real athletic move to hurdle Caps player to spring himself.
While i agree Biron didn't get a lot of help, he allows too many pucks to go between his legs. Guys like Lundqvist seem to always have the 5 hole closed, even when they are screened. I am just not a big Biron fan. He was mediocre in Philly and hasn't really improved much. Fortunately, he is our backup. I think Torts needs to keep Lundqvist fresh, but in the games that Biron plays the defense, including the forwards, needs to tighten things up.
@Dminches Agreed that while Biron's numbers have been great this season I wouldn't say he's been lights out. But you also have to remember we're so used to the brilliance that is Lundqvist most goaltenders in the league pale in comparison.
Put Avery on the damn ice, he sparks the team when we need one... And hes actually usefull, unlike Boyle, Feds, Rupp, these guys r cold, i would even say Prust, but at least hes worth something, Boyle fought the other night and got his @ss beat, it was a joke...
@thenyrblog terrible effort. They haven't been this bad since october. HBO 24\/7 = bullseye on ur back. Caps came to play
I think I have an idea to spruce up that fourth line. Torts may not agree with it though...
Torts needs to cycle in a rest day for our lower liners. I don't like how lopsided the ice time distribution is. Four shifts in the third period for Hagelin, three for Feds, four in the second for Mitchell, 5 minutes on the game for Rupp, and 9 minutes on the game for Prust? Not that any of them have earned more, but once Wolski gets back, I hope to see at least Feds, Rupp, Prust, and Boyle each sit at least one game. I don't know why the lower lines can't pull it together the way they did last year to carry us so far, but if its something a few days off doesn't fix, they need to talk to Ramsay. Am I the only one concerned that Richards and Cally are both seeing over 20 minutes each game, with Gabby and Step both around 19? It isn't so much a matter of their ability to skate that many minutes, though injuries may be a concern later in the season, more that we seem to be leaning solely on these four, with Girardi (27 min/game), McD (25), and Hank holding down the back end.
@SirKengin Torts has always coached that way. He loves to run with his top guys, which unfortunately may lead to them getting burned out. Rangers are a much better team when rolling four lines.
I was at the game tonight. Rangers looked a step slow, but Caps didn't really play great. Rangers made several soft plays in the neutral zone that ended up in the back of their net (MDZ, Mitch, Richards). Rupp/Prust/Feds line looked like crap. Bickel's face looked like it was hit by a truck. The team and torts have no clue whatsoever what they are doing on the power play. Semin might as well have been invisible until the puck hits his stick in the offensive zone, but he finished both his chances.
Im thinking once Wolski comes back Boyle may be a healthy scratch for a game or two. No point in having a big man out there if he's gonna be everywhere except in front of the net screening the other goalie.
