Do you now understand why some of the writers around here are being cautious rather than overly optimistic about this team? Yes, it was only one game, but there were some GLARING holes in their performance.
As the Hockey Rodent points out, last night the Rangers were not able to overcome the deficiencies they exhibited during Saturday's shootout win. They could not complete a pass out of the zone, and they continue to play pattycake with the puck instead of firing away. Save for Ryan Hollweg and Aaron Ward every now and then, no one finished their checks. Despite breaking their power-play cherry, they looked atrocious most of the time with the man advantage. Henrik Lundqvist looked pedestrian, at best, on the goals, while making spectacular saves other times.
So lopsided was the physical play that Ryan Hollweg started the third period on the left side of Michael Nylander and Jaromir Jagr. If this stays the same, the Rangers will NEVER be healthy enough for any serious postseason run.
The most troubling aspect for me was the awful play of the defense. Fedor Tyutin looked like he was playing his first NHL game. Marek Malik and Michal Rozsival were horrid, allowing Flyers to get behind them a few times resulting in wide open shots, and goals on at least two occasions. Karel Rachunek at least got himself involved in the offense a little.
Save for a few positional mistakes (which can easily be rectified), Thomas Pöck was the best blueliner on the ice. He scored the team's first goal on a fantastic shot, he was able to carry the puck through the neutral zone quickly and efficiently, he was able to get the puck deep in the Flyers zone when needed, he led the team with four blocked shots, and even laid a Kaspar-esque hip check along the boards.
And speaking of Kaspar, if he is able to lay off the donuts for a while, the team could really use him. They need that intimidating presence on D. Right now, if he comes back, I sit Tyutin. Sorry to say it.
What's that? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the lazy penalties. Four hooking calls in the second period is not acceptable. Add a fifth in the third, and it's just silly. Granted, the Flyers committed nine obstruction fouls, but when your man-advantage sucks so bad, it doesn't matter.
Boy, do the papers have a different tone today than they did over the last five days:
NY Post: With No. 68 unable to carry them; with Henrik Lundqvist merely ordinary in nets; with the power play still anything but shot-oriented from the back again; with Martin Straka and Michal Rozsival on the points, what else is to be expected? And with Renney furiously shuffling his lines for the final 25 minutes, the Rangers looked discombobulated.
NY Daily News: The triumph, keyed by a commanding performance by Peter Forsberg, extended the Flyers' recent run of Manhattan success to 7-0-1 in their last eight visits - 9-1-1 in their last 11. The Rangers? They got an early slap back to reality after a couple of season-opening victories.
Newsday: Pock, subbing for Darius Kasparaitis for the third straight game, is making the most of the opportunity. "He's certainly proactive," Renney said. The young Austrian was certainly noticeable. After Prucha slid to block a shot, then caromed a pass off the boards up ice to Shanahan, Pock - who also blocked four shots - joined the rush and converted a sweet feed from Shanahan to tie the score at 1 at 16:33.
The Journal News: After two encouraging wins to start the year, the Rangers came out flat against the determined Flyers, and the result was a discouraging 4-2 loss. That the team dropped its first game of the year may have been one cause for concern. That they did it in such listless fashion was the other.
Joe Mac at NY SportsDay writes that Jagr's shoulder problems could be a cause for concern.
So that's that. It was a mess no doubt. And can I just tell you how sick I am watching Flyer fans march through MSG celebrating Philly wins? Very tiresome.
Nonetheless, I hope the Rangers don't think they have a laugher tomorrow night against the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury is playing extremely well in net, and the team is young and fast. This is one that could get out of hand fast if the Blueshirt aren't careful.
HDH
Posted by Jim at October 11, 2006 12:35 PMeMail this entry!
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