Senators 3, Rangers 2, F/SO
Despite a third period surge with goals from Ryan Callahan and Ryan McDonagh, the New York Rangers lost to the Ottawa Senators in a shootout, 3-2. For a complete box score of the game, check out Yahoo! Sports.
- Felt the overall effort was better in comparison to the Montreal game (a beer league game would have been better), but we've yet to see the Rangers play at the level they're capable of.
- Positive takeaway: The team grabbed a point in the standings. Sure, two points is always the goal but in a shortened season, you'll take points any way you can get them. The East continues to be very tight.
- It's been two games, but Rick Nash's absence can be felt. Despite only having three goals, he still creates offense and matchup problems nearly every shift. Here's hoping to him being back healthy for Saturday.
- JT Miller is going to have nightmares of that missed shootout attempt. Congrats to him on his first NHL assist.
Continue reading for my thoughts on Brad Richards' struggles, Ryan Callahan's response to his coach's plea for his top guys to play better and much more!
- Brad Richards' play is borderline alarming. He's stricken with over thinking and over analyzing, rather than letting the play come to him. It's tough to watch and it has to change.
- Maybe Richards should be asking Carl Hagelin for some of his confidence as he continues to be the best Rangers forward every game.
- Ryan Callahan with a Ryan Callahan goal. Torts sort of called out Callahan after Tuesday, saying his captain (along with others) could play better. And he did, scoring a clutch third period PP goal.
- Yes folks, the Rangers scored a power play goal. Rejoice!
- Really feel Jeff Halpern is rounding into form. He's been getting better each game and has stepped up in Darroll Powe's absence. Was robbed of a goal because of a quick whistle tonight, too.
- Rangers travel to Montreal for Saturday. Interesting to note: considering his struggles at the Bell Centre historically, does Torts go with Biron? Or does he come back with Lundqvist, who will be eager to get back in the W column?
- First loss of the season for someone other than Kevin writing the recap. The streak is over.
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Dont wanna go into to much detail but gabbi doesnt have a lot of room and stil hit two posts, there almost no pressure in the middle, all kept to the outside. the refs were HORRENDOUS again. Rangers miss the net on almost all thier shots in the shoout out and the sens score the winning on a miss fire. The hockey gods were not on the rags side this game. Posts, bad calls, miss fires, open net chances blocked or missed.
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We also need to remember losing Nash, Powe and now Asham has really hurt this team.
Think about the difference between right now without these three and last week when Torts felt confident rolling all four lines.
Hopefully all three can get back in the line-up soon and the Rangers can get headed in the right direction.
There is no reason to have Boyle and Halepern in the same game. They are similar players (good faceoff, slow players, good Pkers)...they bring no more and no less. Put one on the 3rd line and one of the 4th and it is 2 lines that dont score. Add to that Richards lost and Nash out...we are back to one line team. Once Nash is back they MUST bench one of the 2 (maybe alternate each game) and get back to the Nash/Step/Hags, Richards/Gabby/Pyatt and then a young fast buzzing line of Cally/Miller/Krieder. That 3rd line may not score but it not a line the other team does not need to worry about putting any pressure on.
@Ciffy02 Halpern isn't slow at all. I'm not sure if we're watching the same game but for a 36 year old Halpern flies. Halpern is also a better forechecker than Boyle and can create more offensive opportunities on the PK while Boyle is able to block shots and clear pucks. Boyle is the more physical of the two (even when he doesn't hit players hard, he hits them more). Having the two on separate lines is completely okay with me. I just think it should be swapped, Boyle on the 4th and Halpern on the 3rd.
How about the players? Another horrible penalty by Boyle...that's 2 games now where his dumbass has provided the other team with the winning goal. Del Zotto -1 last night...basic defensive coverage is beyond this guy..and RICHARDS sucked again. Torts has nothing to do with these guys not being in shape and not thinking on the ice...
Another thing about Ottawa is that Anderson plays like Patrick Roy against us. No doubt in my mind that he didn't get hurt we would have got shutout.
I just looked at the WB Pens schedule for this weekend and the Whale are coming to town tomorrow night! Guess I'm going to see Mc kick the crap out of someone!!!
Every point is critical as the Rangers stay in the hunt. Given last season's success, however, can anyone be satisfied if the Rangers barely make the playoffs? And, even if they do, can we really expect a serious run? This team has to show a heck of a lot more than they have so far. Cripes, look at the injuries Ottawa has and then look at their compete level. Rick Nash is out and you think we are on the brink of disaster. Realistically speaking, there are too many teams playing superior to the Rangers and, where many of us had hopes for the Cup this year, I just don't see it based on the current level of play. Sadly, this tells me that last year may have been a case of "lightning in a bottle," but we shall see.
Thought we played a little better last night but still nowhere near where we should be. A few days ago I said that our pp needs to make some changes. I said that Richards and delzotto should be replaced with stall and stralman.......even though stralman did not see one second of pp time (while girardi does???) stall creates numerous opportunities and his getting then puck to the net actually gives Callahan the easy slam dunk. Richards is lost out there.......yet he is on the ice for haf of the OT????? Boyle back to being Boyle......didn't take long. Something I hate.......micheletti five minutes into every game saying how great the rangers look!!!
@RangerGuy99 Girardi has a pretty mean sloper and he consistently puts it on net. No problem with him out there.
@KurtBalogh if there were no other options than yes he can play the point.......the guy logs 25+ minutes a game......does not need to play PP too.
@RangerGuy99 I agree there. He plays a ton. Right now, I'm really liking his shot from the point. But I also agree Stralman is a better option than DZ at this point.
“@TheNYRBlog: Was the Rangers effort better? Better than what? Without Hank they lose in regulation! Poor effort! Krieder played better.
@trcoach35 Better than against Habs. But there was really no where to go but up after that one so it's not saying much.
No way can you play Biron Saturday in what will be a low scoring game. Hanks the only thing that gives them half a chance in the shootout
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I realized something about this Rangers team. Excuse my language but they are a bunch of pu$$i#s. This game against the Sens, in all honesty was an embarrassment. They did not have their four of their best players (Spezza, Karrlson, Michalek and Anderson for the 3rd) and somehow we blew a lead in the third. They show no heart, no effort. I mean take a look at Brad Richards, he is our assistant captain, what has he done this year. Nothing. Which to a great player is an embarrassment. Tortorella says he holds people accountable, well I beg to differ. Richards has been garbage this whole year, but he continues to play him 19 minutes a game. And Brian Boyle has no business playing on Saturday, I would rather see Asham and Bickel. For gods sake if Kreider had done what Boyle did tonight people would be calling for his head. The team we are watching right now, could back in to the playoffs, but lets not fool ourselves, they are no Stanley Cup Contender. Now, of course that can change, but in order for that to happen something has to change. Even Hank seems to be a little off this year. I think it starts with the leaders, Callahan is known as a quiet leader, he lets his play do the talking, which is understandable. Brad Richards is supposed to be a leader on the team, and right now his play begs to differ. A leader that is in a slump would do anything to get out of it, god forbid he try and hit someone (dare I say a fight). I mean a lot of people think thats crazy talk to be saying for Richards to fight, but its about time he do something because this team is headed nowhere fast. A hockey team should not be dependent on one player, whether it is Nash or hank.
Sorry about the length...
@slapshot13j ...Yeah I stopped taking this seriously when you said Richards and fight in the same sentence. You gotta calm down. We are all very much aware that Richards is off to a horrid start. I want you to explain to me how him getting absolutely pummeled in a fight will help him break out of that. Since that's not possible at the moment, I shall keep going. While Richards has looked absolutely awful this season, he has 9 assists, tied for the team lead. For someone who is playing probably the worst hockey of his career, that's not a bad number coming into a season with no training camp and no actual hockey at all. Since February 7th, Richie has played less than 19 minutes five out of the past seven games.
I honestly don't understand what this giant man-crush is you have with Kreider. Boyle played an awful game but where was Kreider? He drew two penalties which...well...one backfired (what's the easiest way to ruin momentum for the Rangers? get us on the power play). He killed Anderson. He hit the post in a shoot out. You can say a lot about Boyle, but Boyle at least hits guys and blocks shots. Kreider had 0 shots on goal. He didn't even have a missed shot. The guy didn't shoot once. Hell, Pyatt shot it five times and Kreider I imagine has a much better shot then him.
You needa pull yourself off of this ledge you seem to be leaning over and just calm down. As coontz said, have some patience. From the 2010-2011 season to the 2011-2012, we had almost 20 guys carry over who were on the roster both years, so chemistry was there in some way. The newcomers consisted of Richie, Stralman, Hags, Rupper, Bickel...that's it really. From 2012-2013, we have lost Artie, Dubi, Pruster, Feds, Rupper, Mitchell. We have new guys: Asham, Masher, Kreider, Miller, Pyatt, Halpern, Powe, Gilroy, Nash. As much as we want them to, the team won't click over night. And these injuries aren't exactly helping much. We'll be okay. They'll figure things out.
@JoshKaye kreider isn't even on the ice, he did absolutely nothing last night. But there is a step worse than that, and it was what Boyle did. He played 10 minutes and managed to cost us the lead, which eventually cost us the game. As for my above statement I am talking about the team up until today. Obviously they can turn it around, but right now this team is a joke. And yea Richards should drop the gloves, maybe getting pummeled is something that will wake him up. You guys think he is like glass, but hopefully he is a hockey player. I mean I've never heard fans that were afraid for one of their players to fight. I'm not saying make it an every night thing, but one time could change his game
@slapshot13j Also Kreider was on the ice for 12:43, his second highest total of the season. More than anyone on that 4th line (excluding Halpern), Boyler, and Miller. And between Bickel and Masher the two had three shots and their combined ice time is less than Kreider. The 4th line guys are taking more shots than Kreider. And Bickel hasn't even been playing lately, at all. I'll go as far to say that Bickel looked better than Kreider this game.
@slapshot13j @JoshKaye Richards has been in three fights in his career, the last one being in 07-08 when he was with Tampa. If you're idea of getting a player to "wake up" is by having his lights out, I hope you don't plan on coaching in the future. As a fanbase, we cringe when Boyle fights, and he's 6'7, 244 lbs, built for something like this. Brad Richards is 6'0 194 lbs. That one time he fights against any other human being is most likely going to end up with him knocked out. I don't think Richards is like glass. I just know Richards isn't a player who should fight.
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@slapshot13jCalling the team an "embarrassment," "a bunch of pussies," "garbage." You sound like a 3 year old having a temper tantrum. Have some patience.
@coontzbloontz patience? How much longer do you want to wait? Til half the season is over? 3/4 of it? The season is 1/3 through and this team has no sense of urgency, and struggles to hold a lead. They play uninspired hockey, so as of right now I am extremely pessimistic about the outcome of this shortened season. What makes it worse is that the devils are one of the best teams in the NHL, and with my luck will end up winnig it all
they sucked balls... so painful to watch this team play at this disjointed, unfocused pace.. no awareness, no smarts.
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Where is the killer instinct with this team? It has been gone since last year in the Devils series. They have no drive at the end of the games, which is why they give up these leads. That isn't something you can coach, that is something the leaders of the team (like Brad Richards) have to show by example... Tonight was a poor effort overall, until late in the third, and then they couldnt finish off a team with a backup cold goalie. Gaborik has to score in OT, but it shouldnt have gotten there, Boyle should be in the press box for that penalty, horrible. It changed the game, and you didnt even mention it in your review?
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@kicker75 one of the major issues with Halpern as the face off guy is that he has to lead the league in getting tossed from the face off. That alone must burn torts so much!!
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@kicker75 Hard to play with a guy that turns the puck over 7+ times a game, Richards is terrible right now...
I thought they looked a lot better today. Decent forecheck, good cycling and offensive zone time. They just need to someone to step up and actually bury some pucks. Defensilvely, they were pretty rock solid, and they handled some momentum swings with lots of defensive zone time quite well (especially the last 2 minutes of the 3rd). Hagelin, Halpern, Stepan, Pyatt, and Callahan all had pretty good games; Mashinter looked good, too.
Gaborik needs to use his speed more in the shootout to put the goalie out of position, then just snipe 5-hole or corners like we know he's capable of doing.
Richards is a fucking dud out there. If we didn't have a couple key injuries I would suggest scratching him for a game or two see how the team plays without him and spark his game a little bit.
Del Zotto... man, this kid is slipping. Holding onto the puck too long, overthinking, ruining chances, and making stupid plays. He NEEDS to be replaced on the PP. McDonagh has much better stretch passes and more accurate point shots than DZ. Staal doesn't hesitate to let one rip which I like a lot, but this has burned him at least a few times where the shot got blocked and he was left stranded behind the play.
Overall, much better effort, but they still need to be more consistent and get some W's
@TheNYRBlog whats sad is that toronto has a better record..it could be worse though,we could be islander fans
They played better tonight than they did against Montreal, which isnt saying much but it really is frustrating watching this years Ranger team. The line juggling and PP woes are nothing new. They are playing a really boring style of hockey and it seems like the majority of the guys out there with the exception of Hagelin and Stepan are overthinking each play.
MDZ is atrocious and honestly if he's out for some period of time, I'd be fine with it. Kind of convenient how the Rangers scored on the PP as soon as he went off the ice with his injury. I could also see Boyle being a healthy scratch again once Powe and Nash are back.
I know everyone of us has their perfect lineup in their head for this team, with that said heres mine for when everyones healthy:
Kreider-Richards-Gaborik
Hagelin-Stepan-Nash
Callahan-Halpern-Pyatt
Powe-Miller-Asham/Mashinter
Richards and Miller could be interchangeable between the 1st and 4th line too in my opinion. Defensive lines are fine the way they are.
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As long as Boyle isnt out there I'd be content. He's sooo slow and really brings whatever line he's on down.
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This team is going to get their collective asses handed to them against the Habs Saturday night. Less of an embarrassing game if Nash plays however.
Del Zotto sucks, Richards sucks.
"...but we've yet to see the Rangers play at the level they're capable of." They've yet to show heart and big balls all season. Any game they won "handedly" I think we've been utterly desperate for a quality showing and thusly did not live up to their potential.
IDK, not really feeling this year's team.
@_Jack yup. The sample size is getting big enough now where u can get an uneasy feel about this team
@TheNYRBlog the Rangers have so much work to do with little time left. Its a bit like cramming for a test...but they gotta do something
When can we say that we saw the Rangers play an all around good game? Not come from behind to win, or give up a lead and squeak one by? I don't think I have seen a team effort yet this year. I'm actually starting to get a little nervous, don't want to start to see the conference run away without us. It seems like hags is the only one that has energy out there. Also, it seems that every goal we give up is because our defense is all over the place and following the puck instead of staying in position. I have faith that we can turn it around, but we need a spark and we need it now!
@TheNYRBlog seriously Boyle is making bad choices almost EVERY shift. Frustrating to watch!!! http://t.co/pXF6UzmKXl
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Thought we played a solid game. Can't give up a shorthanded goal like that. Also need to work on taking a lead and keeping it. It's nice we scored a power play goal, but still, 1 for 4 is something we need to improve on.
Boyle seemed to come back down to earth this game. Still landed five hits in less than 10 minutes of ice time but all in all didn't impress me much. Kreider, in almost 13 minutes registered 0 shots on goal. That's...not good. Gabby looked better to me, which has me thinking a bit: maybe Hags and Step are really helping the 3rd guy on their line out. They give Nash tons of chances and Gabby this game had seven shots himself. Also, liked that Gabby was angry with himself over missing that shot in OT. Granted, he needs a different move. Five hole isn't working.
I may be the only one who feels this way, but the line of Masher Halpern and Bickel was kind of impressing me. Masher continues to be smart with the puck while Bickel showed off a pretty decent shot which I wasn't aware he had. As for Halpern, well his game says all that has to be said. One of our best forecheckers and a guy who works hard every shift.
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@JoshKaye Gabby's got to get away from the Matt Cullen shootout move. Use your speed Gabby. Rangers have now blown leads in 4 of the last 5 games.
@KevinDeLury If it doesn't work once, it probably won't work. If it doesn't work twice, you definitely shouldn't try again. If it doesn't work for a third time, then just move on. He's got a great shot, why not snipe it to one of the corners? Or hell, go fast at the net, maybe slow down to confuse the goalie and, I don't know, score?
