So, if things couldn't possibly get any worse after the frothy 4-0 pummeling the Rangers received back on Friday, they will be without their head coach John Tortorella today. Tortorella who had his own "Sean Avery" moment in Game 5, hurling a water bottle into the crowd, was ironically benched today for his antics as the league suspended him for one game. Hey at least he didn't use his shoe.
So getting back to hockey, the Rangers will be helmed by Jim Schoenfeld when the puck drops in just a few hours. Will Schoenfeld be able to remedy the ugly issues that surfaced in Game 5?
Despite the benching of Sean Avery as an "example" of what happens when you take bad penalties the Rangers still continually committed stupid infraction after another helping seal their own demise. Scott Gomez was the first, taking a retaliatory slash shortly after the opening faceoff. The well oiled machine that is the Rangers' penalty killing squad was able to weather the storm, as usual. However, the penalty kill set the tone of the game because from that very point the Capitals would own all puck possession for the rest of the game.
The Rangers' power play seems to be getting worse and worse as the series goes on. They have not scored a single power play goal since Game 1. On Friday they regressed back the way they were in mid season as they allowed a shorthanded goal on their first power play of the game. That goal would both spark the Capitals and their crowd as their offensive tidal wave once again washed away the Rangers' commanding lead in this series.
Honestly, I can't harp on Game 5 too much, because it just makes me physically sick. I will always be a fan first then a blogger. The Rangers laid down and died on Friday, there is no two ways about it. If they would have lost a tight knit game and played their souls out, like the Capitals have been doing in their three losses I would have no issue. Instead in Games 3 and 5 the Rangers' top players seemed to want to take the night off. Are you kidding me?? This is the damn playoffs!! WAKE UP!!!
Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Markus Naslund, Nik Antropov and Nikolai Zherdev are supposed to be the top offensive players on this team. Gomez had a great Game 1, sure... well it's Game 6 now. Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky can't be expected to be the only ones playing hard every damn shift. If they can't play hard as a team today, take the body, dig the puck out of the corners and generate offense off their long lost forecheck, then they will be heading back to Washington in a tied series. Not a good scenario, not a good scenario at all.
The series is today, here and now. The Rangers were able to rebound from a similarly god awful game in Game 4, mostly from the superb play of Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers cannot leave it all on Hank today, they need to play well as a team. John Tortorella will not be there, however the leaders on this team need to lead and not add to the problem. Drury, Gomez and Naslund this is their game to win or lose. Their collective legacies as Rangers are on the line.
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It is still not clear whether or not Sean Avery will play in today's game as the line ups have not yet been released. However if I was a betting man, I would say he will be in there.
Sean Avery > Aaron Voros
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