This time there was no miracle comeback. This time there were no acrobatic saves. The lucky and resilient Rangers were neither last night against a Calgary Flames team that out checked, out hustled and, in the end, outscored them. The final score was 5-1, and like the season opener in Washington, it was a fair representation of a team that is still finding it difficult acclimating to the system their coach wants them to play.
After a four-game road winning streak that saw them play maybe four periods of spirited hockey, last night's performance was a dud, to say the least. Time after time, the Rangers tried to carry the puck out of their zone; time after time, the Flames prevented them from doing so. When they did manage to gain the offensive zone, their passes were often intercepted and led to scoring chances the other way.
Chris Tanev had one of those chances when the Rangers got caught up ice on a 3 on 2. The Calgary defenseman scored with 70 seconds left in the first period. Another came courtesy of a giveaway by Patrik Nemeth behind his own net early in the second and was converted by Andrew Mangiapane. And just like that it was 2-0 Flames. In all, they committed twenty giveaways, nine in the opening period.
We've seen this movie before. The Caps, the Stars, the Senators and now the Flames. The common theme in all four games has been a lackluster performance leading to deficits that make it difficult to overcome. Seriously, if you had the Rangers scoring three goals in a span of 3:20 in Ottawa you're either a liar or clairvoyant. Regardless, this is no way for a team to play if it has any postseason aspirations.
Consider this: not one of the seven teams the Rangers have played this season is considered a legit Cup contender. I know there are fans in Washington and Toronto who might beg to differ. Let them. If either the Caps or Maple Leafs makes it to the finals, I'll start buying lotto tickets. Like I wrote in my last piece, if this is how they're going to play against teams that are beatable, imagine what's going to happen to them when they play against the Bruins, the Hurricanes, or, gulp, the Islanders.
They haven't scored more than three goals in a game all season. Their power play is an anemic 3 for 26. Apart from the goaltending, the lone bright spot has been their penalty kill, which had successfully killed off 14 straight power plays until Mangiapane scored on a five on four at 19:55 of the third period.
Gerard Gallant hinted they might have been tired after a long road trip. Excuses won't cut it. They weren't tired out there, they were sloppy; sloppy and stubborn. They still think they can carry the puck into the zone and set up shop like it's the '80s or something. This reluctance to dump the puck in the corner and forecheck is mind numbing. Even more frustrating is the unwillingness to put bodies in front of the opponents net. Indeed, their only goal came as a result of Kevin Rooney and Dryden Hunt screening the Calgary goaltender with Hunt pouncing on the rebound. See how simple that was?
They got Ryan Strome back last night. He was one of the few bright spots on the ice, winning 11 of 12 face-offs and setting up Artemi Panarin for a breakaway that was stopped. Kaapo Kakko makes his return from an upper-body injury Friday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets, another beatable team. After that, they embark on a road trip out west.
They're 4-2-1. They could easily be 2-4-1. Barring a trade or serious injury, this is the team that will determine whether the rebuild started by Jeff Gorton four years ago, and tweaked by Chris Drury this summer, was successful or not. Are the Rangers a contender or a pretender? This is the question that remains to be answered. I'm still bullish on the former, but then I've been known to be wrong.
Just take a look at my blog posts.
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