The Rangers battled the on- and off-ice officials as well as the Bruins in their 4-2 loss to Boston on Saturday. While the Bruins did dominate the action, the poor job by the first two didn't help matters. Whether or not fair and balanced officiating would have made a difference is questionable as Boston was clearly the better and more desperate team and it showed.
Henrik Lundqvist, starting his first game since February 2, was left out to dry the first half of the game by his teammates. It's doubtful that Cam Talbot could have fared any better, save for maybe the second goal, so let's end that discussion right here. The good news is that Lundqvist did start scraping off whatever layers of rust he had built up and that he was solid the last 26 minutes of the game.
The game lowlights:
The on-ice officials actually got the call on Milan Lucic's first goal right, disallowing it on the ice. However, the NHL Situation Room overturned the call because in accordance with Rule 49.2: "A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player's skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal."
Watch the video beginning at the 30 second mark and you tell me if there wasn't a kicking motion. I have a bridge to sell you if you don't think there was. If this wasn't one, how was JT Miller's last year not ruled one? In addition, Chris Kreider and Ryan McDonagh blew the coverage on Lucic, leading to the opportunity. That goal started the day off wrong and it got worse from there.
The second goal should have be a simple 2-on-2. But, there was a break down in neutral zone as Dan Boyle drifted to far towards Torey Krug, leaving Lucic open and he beat Hank five-hole with a wrist shot at 9:26 of the second.
It got worse from there. Carl Soderberg stole the puck from Matt Hunwick outside the New York blue line and then beat Lundqvist with a forehand from in tight. That made it 3-0 at 14:27 and you pretty much could have shut off your sets there.
Reilly Smith's first goal in 15 games put the Bruins ahead 4-0 at 5:53 of the second period. He tracked down a rebound of a Loui Eriksson stuff attempt and scored into the open net. Of course, calling an offsides, having all three forward come back and some own zone coverage by the Rangers might have been nice but who am I to quibble with a lack of compete level.
The Rangers made the final score respectable with goals by Rick Nash, his 40th, in the second and Hunwick with 23 seconds to go. But the myriad of mistakes and inability to raise their compete level until 30 minutes in were too much to overcome. Now back to the officiating.
Carp put it best:
So Zdeno Chara hit Kevin Hayes long after the whistle early. Punched Staal late first. Chara can’t catch anybody anymore, so he waits for whistles and punches them.
Second period, Nash lifts a stick. Penalty. Yandle gets boarded, which was borderline, but at very minimum a dangerous interference penalty. No call. Zuccarello elbowed in the head. No call. Miller elbowed in the head. No call. McDonagh cut by stick to face. No call. Tanner Glass gets boarded. No call. NHL refs have been on strike for weeks. But they’re still getting paid and allowed to use the bathroom.
Finally, James Sheppard and Glass had enough. Glass got a major at the buzzer for butt-ending Adam McQuaid. Then the NHLDPS issued Glass, a non-repeat offender, the maximum fine: $3,897.85. Glass scraped around under the driver’s seat in his car and paid the fine.
What annoyed me was the team's failure to respond. Maybe they wanted to avoid landing in the box or degenerating the game more than it was into a slugfest, but I wanted to see them stand up for themselves even more. Good for Sheppard that he retaliated, same with Glass, as he tired of McQuaid running around all over the place. If this was playoff preview, we saw what Boston may try and do to get the Rangers off their game and how New York may have to respond.
I get both of the arguments in the comments on the site. The Rangers did beat the Isles twice, the Hawks, the Preds, the Ducks, Bruins, the Panthers and The Sens. All teams that are elite and/or fighting for the playoffs. But the converse to that is that the Kings and Bruins, two desperate teams, took the play to New York and both of those games occurred in the last three contests, so the memory is fresh. The Rangers have been a team that responds well to adversity, so I would expect no different today against Washington.
Glad to see the Rangers are trying to sign Brady Skjei and get him to Hartford. Let him get his feet wet in the minors and see what life as a professional is like. Maybe he is ready next year, giving the New York a low-cost solid option on the blue line with major upside.
Cam Talbot will be between the pipes and the lineup will be the same as the past several game with Martin St. Louis and Kevin Klein still out
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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