Upon reading some of the news stories this morning, along with Tom Renney's comments, it seems a lot is being made of the "comeback" the Rangers "almost" made, as well as the blown delay-of-game call. Let's not lose sight of what this was: A desperate attempt at a comeback after an absolutely abysmal forty minutes. Watching the first two periods, I felt as thought they were playing worse than they had on Tuesday.
I did get a kick out of Renney's response to the inquiry of what to take out of the loss:
"What do I take out of this?" Renney said. "Well, maybe we learned the most valuable lesson tonight. After all the rhetoric and all you do as a staff working with your team, maybe showing the resolve in the third period and the determination and the will to get yourself back in the game and avoid being embarrassed is the answer we can conclude."
Well, first of all, that's still rhetoric. Secondly, wouldn't the "most valuable lesson" be that you have to play 60 minutes a game? Shouldn't there have been a lesson learned after getting out-hustled by the Islanders the other night?
To be honest, I'm getting tired of hearing things like "we have to learn to be a winning team" and "this is a lesson learned" and "this could be a turning point" and "we need more effort". The fact is this is NOT a young team just learning its way in the NHL. The leaders on this team have all had lengthy careers. There were nine guys in last night's lineup over the age of thirty. If they aren't able to build a "winning culture" by now, it's time for some new personnel.
Just one more note: The defense is just awful. AWFUL. Karel Rachunek gets back into the lineup and was dusted several times on the outside. Malik continues to be horrid (despite going +3). Fedor Tyutin is starting to scare me, as he was on the ice for four of the first five goals against. Oh what the heck, they ALL stunk. They need to develop solid, stay-at-home blueliners. If Marc Staal is not part of this club come September, there should be a mutiny from the fans.
Anyway, all that being said, I hate to be a negative nelly after such a fun night spent with fellow Hockeybird readers. It was a pleasure meeting and sharing a few drinks with people you talk to almost every day, but rarely get to chat with in person. Thanks again to Verdogg for setting the whole thing up, and I look forward to the next get together.
Da news:
Larry Brooks really lays into the officials and the league, but I kinda don't want to hear excuses: It's true the Rangers committed more mistakes than the officiating crew, but that doesn't exonerate the group for the clearly blown call. Moreover, it surely doesn't excuse the crew from explaining how a correct decision became an incorrect one.
NY Newsday: A desperate Rangers coach Tom Renney tried everything to dig out of a 4-0 hole, built in a second period during which the Rangers become spectators. They allowed the Senators to get to the net virtually without resistance and score three unanswered goals to chase beleaguered Kevin Weekes, playing his first game since Dec. 21.
"Cash" McDonald at NY SportsDay: It’s quite possible the Rangers showed some heart in this game, but at the same time, the first two periods showed that Renney’s tirade on Tuesday had little effect.
The Journal News: On a night when the Rangers played two of their ugliest periods against the Ottawa Senators, they responded with one of their best to get close in a 6-4 loss, scoring four goals from four supporting players to stir the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy. Never mind that the same crowd was serenading the team with boos just moments earlier. As with everything else around the Rangers these days, nothing ever stays the same for long.
The Rodent points out that the Blueshirts are repeatedly repeating mistakes, and that something needs to change.
So throw away the comeback and the supplemental scoring and the "heart" they showed in the "almost" comeback. It was a loss, plain and simple. A loss, mind you, that pushed them back to within 5 points of 13th place in the Conference. If they lose to the Bruins tomorrow, they could very well find themselves outside the playoff bubble come Tuesday when they face off against the Devils.
Either way, they'll have plenty of time to think about it, since they only have three games between now and January 27th. Maybe they'll learn some things by then.
HDH
Posted by Jim at January 12, 2007 01:01 PMeMail this entry!
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