From anguish and despair, to hope and exhilaration, and back to anguish and despair again. That sentence basically describes what happened at MSG last night. After falling behind 3-0, New York made a spirited comeback to tie the game and had NJ on the ropes, but couldn't deliver the knockout shot. New Jersey got a late goal from the fourth line, a theme this series, and beat NY, 5-3 to take a 3-2 series lead heading back to the Rock for Game 6 Friday.
For all the talk about Torts' failure to make adjustments, the return of Brandon Dubinsky, who had been out with a right ankle injury suffered in Game 7 against Ottawa, sort of forced his hand. Granted he could have just switched Dubi on Mitchell's line as a one-for-one swap but like the tweaks he made, even if early they did not pan out. With Gaborik struggling, Torts rightly took him off the first line and paired him with Fedotenko and Stepan. He reunited the Old Pack line in Anisimov with Dubi and Cally. In order to add some speed, he moved Kreider up to skate with Richards and Hagelin. The fourth line had some continuity with the returning Prust after his one-game suspension on a line with Boyle and Rupp.
I want to go through some of the goals with overview thoughts included on the series and game as part of them, plus if the goal should have been stopped by Hank, who seems to be today's whipping boy for the loss:
Game Highlights:
The Rangers actually got off to a strong start to game, especially Dubi and Cally, who hit everything that moved. However, just like that a Fayne shot goes to Gionta all alone in front for goal at 2:43. I know we all complained that Step was hit by a high stick to the face by Gionta, which is why the goal was scored, but we saw Cally get away with a stick to the face, cutting Zubrus, that went uncalled and Gabby knocked over a d-man, also uncalled, so not placing all the blame there. The big issue was undisciplined play, another little, or really big thing, you can't do in the playoffs. Rupp and MDZ both went after the same man along the boards, which left the point shot wide open and ended up on Gionta's stick in front. Kind of hard to blame Hank on this one as he would have had to make a spectacular save on a player all alone in front.
Just 90 seconds later, it became 2-0. Adam Henrique shot off caromed off the back of Elias' leg, then Anisimov's skate, who was in good position, and past Hank for the goal at 4:13. On the play, Staal wiped out twice, deep in the Devils zone, again another little play and one where he should have peeled back after the first attempt, forcing AA to come back. They failed to stop Ilya at top of the blue line, who made a great play, borderline offsides, though not clear cut there, to get it to Henrique, who put the shot on net. Again, kind of hard to blame Hank for this one as there was a double deflection past him and would have required an unreal save, but one he has made in the pass.
At this point, cognizant that the team has scored first, won the first four games in the series. Plus, the Rangers have struggled to score in general, let alone two to tie and get it OT, the concern level went to Defcon 2. New Jersey was carrying play with Hagelin recording the Rangers' first shot on goal at 5:29. It got worse, as Gaborik shot like eight feet wide of an open net from seven feet off a great feed from Feds, who I thought was brilliant last night, to keep the Rangers off the board.
To add injury to insult, three minutes later it was 3-0 and panic level at Defcon 1. After McDonagh got crushed off puck in the offensive zone, Rupp and Stepan both over-commit in neutral zone (again, little plays with a huge impact), Parise made a nice play to get it to Zajac, who scores with 10:11 left. MDZ has to try and knock Zajac off the puck and not just give him space. This is one that Hank would love to have back as it should have been an easy stop even with Zajac's hesitation.
At this point, it would have been easy to lay down, but that is not the 2011-12 New York Rangers. While the results may not be there enough for our liking at times, this team has no quit and will fight and work to the final buzzer. If anyone thinks that they won't show up from Opening Faceoff to Final Buzzer on Friday, you have not been following them all season. More on this later.
The Rangers hard work finally paid off on a Prust goal late in the first. Great play by Fedotenko to knock a dump/shot attempt with Prust doing a back door cut to get free with speed past Salvador and score on Brodeur, who didn't have a strong game.
The second period started like the first ended with the Rangers carrying play. A cross in front of the net deflected in off Callahan's leg, not skate, which is why the goal counted. On replay, it didn't look like he used a distinctive kicking motion as it went in on the stride across, even if he turned his leg, which might have been why it wasn't overturned.
Now for the second almost goal, which could have made a difference. Cally seemingly hits both posts and the puck amazingly stays out as the Rangers carry play almost the entire second period.
The period ended with the Devils fourth line, notice a pattern, almost scoring. At this point, the Rangers have carried play for the 28 of the last 30 minutes, have two goals on the board but seemingly should have had move. Maybe NJ got overconfident and took their foot off the gas pedal, enabling the Rangers to come back as three-goal leads that early in a game are at times hard to hold on to because there is so much time left and subconsciously, you are watching the clock.
The third period started in the same fashion as the second, with an early goal, this one by Gaborik, who finally got a cheap one. Brodeur misplayed the puck, getting caught with an indecision on how to play the puck, turning it over, which enabled Gabby to bank off him. Brodeur overall did not have a good game, as the Rangers altered their strategy as to how to dump the puck in, sometimes going soft and other times hard. In addition, they used their speed to beat the forecheck and physical play to gain edges down low most of the game. Brodeur had a big save midway through the period on Kreider to keep it tied.
About midway through the third, the Devils forecheck started to exert its influence. That forecheck led to misplays by Rupp, Prust, Staal and MDZ on a few consecutive possessions, which was foreboding. The goal scored on a seemingly innocuous play. The puck was shot into the corner, where Kovy outdueled MDZ, but he was still in good shape. Gionta got to the puck, battling in the corner and passed out in front of the net to a wide-open Ryan Carter, who beat Hank for the dagger. Lundqvist actually went side-to-side well and didn't leave Carter much room, but it was enough for him to score. It was only fitting that the fourth line scored as they have outplayed the Rangers fourth line, and possibly the other three as well, most of the series.
On the play, Hagelin and Richards, who almost had his Steve Smith moment a few minutes earlier when he shot the puck on Lundqvist, who made the save, missed picking Carter up. The Rangers usually have the center or forward pick up the middle or player coming off bench/down the wing. If you watch end of Game 7 and most of the Washington series, the Rangers had a forward there, which blunted several Capitals' scoring chances. This was really evident in Game 7 as I can think of at least 3-4 plays in the third where that occurred, and the failure to do that here, again, another little thing and failure to play attention to detail, really cost the Blueshirts.
In addition, I felt that the Rangers were a bit gassed after expending so much effort to catch up, which is why I felt they needed an early goal to take the lead after tying it. They might have mentally relaxed a little, as subconsciously feeling that they had climbed the mountain, though really not gotten over it. That small drop coupled with the Devils now seeing the game tied, which kicked them in the butt a little, was enough to shift momentum back to NJ and result in the Carter goal.
The disappointment for all of us Rangers fans is palpable. The positives I can take from last night was that the team did not quit and actually might have had their best game of the series, dominating action most of the night. Unfortunately, just like how the Devils felt after Games 1 and 3, all that really matters is that the Rangers have a number on the right side of the win-loss ledger. All year long, the team has answered the bell and every challenger. They have not lost three straight all year, showed in the Ottawa series they can win back-to-back elimination games and have won consecutive games 21 times this season (thanks Bo, our closet Rangers fan and moderator).
If anyone views this season as a failure, I point you to what Pete so eloquently wrote as that should be how we all feel today, All I will add is that in the moment, we likely will all feel disappointed. That is our want if they don't get it done, Friday, Sunday or in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, once we have a bit of perspective, we should all see how special of a year it has been, and hopefully will continue to be, even though it may end in bitter fashion and cognizant of how tough it is to get back to where they are now.
I am not ready to talk about post-mortems or what the team needs next year, the only focus for us and the team should be Friday, After they win, Sunday. The Rangers played best when they had a sense of desperation and opened it up a bit. Granted, there are risks with that, but if the line combinations stay the same, the top line should be able to generate some pressure and Torts should open it up a bit.
Much of the focus before yesterday's game was whether the Rangers were a fatigued team and could they answer the bell in Game 5. I highlighted four points, the first three I thought could counter fatigue, that being will, heart and desire, with the fourth, execution, need to tie it all together. Well, yesterday, it was clear early, and even after getting behind 3-0, that the will, heart and desire were there but they couldn't make up for the lack of execution. Those three factors again, and how the Rangers answered the bell yesterday, make me believe and feel that the concepts of fatigue and disappointment resulting in a less than optimal effort are far-fetched and not based in reality.
From Pete: This team hasn't wasted anything. They have played their hearts out the entire year, and they have gotten the absolute most of the talent they have in the room. They aren't the most talented team. They aren't some juggernaut that will lay waste to the teams on a consistent basis. But they are an excellent team that is borne from their ability to sacrifice themselves, and play great hockey as a unit. The team is truly better than the sum of its parts.
They may lose on Friday night, and this great season may come to an end, but it won't be because this team quits. It won't be because they haven't put in the maximum possible effort to get a W. If their season should end on Friday night they will go out on their shields. They will go out as warriors, and they deserve our respect.
The opportunity is still there. Win two games in a row for a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. They will need to be much better than they have been in this series to accomplish that. Hank will need to be stellar, and the forward unit will need to play like they did in Game 5. The Rangers stars will need to shine. But, it is possible, and in the event that they can win these next two games, the journey will be all the more sweet.
Don't lose heart. If they lose tomorrow or on Sunday, we will have months to do a post-mortem. But until then, let's go Rangers! Go get a win tomorrow night!
History is not a precursor at all times for the future, but in this case, in 1994, the Rangers were coming off a poor Game 5 heading to Game 6. Here's hoping history repeats itself with a similar end result.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»