No More Blue Balls For The Blue Shirts

By: Alan Pagano

Hey, Ranger fans, don’t be down about last year’s playoff loss to the Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s the new season. Henrik Lundqvist is coming off his Vezina trophy winning year; we acquired Rick Nash in the off season, and did I mention it’s a shorter season, so keep blocking away at shots because you have fewer games to get injured.

So, why are we only 7-5.  There are problems that the Rangers are working through; finally we see the importance to a pre-season. Implementing someone as talented and aggressive as Rick Nash takes time. Chicago, Boston, and dare I even say it, New Jersey are off to such good starts due to their team not changing much since last season. John Torterella and his blueshirts are still trying to figure out what lines are going to gel best. That takes time.

Now, I have never been a huge fan of John Torterella, mind you, but I believe he had a new plan of attack for this season. My prediction was that the Rangers would play aggressive hockey, taking way too many penalties (HOW MANY TIMES CAN THE RANGERS TAKE A “TOO MANY MEN ON THE ICE” PENALTY), and pinching in too often on defense, but I believe the results would pay off offensively.  We would be very similar to Boston.   However, that is not the case. I can only blame so much on a shortened season, but our defense is playing soft and tentative offensively.  Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto are young and fast.  Dan Girardi is solid, Anton Stralman is living up to his potential, and Marc Staal is playing like himself again, almost. If you want to play aggressive the plan of attack needs to be using the defensemen to take big shots from the point while the offense men deflect pucks in.  The Rangers should always look in control when they are in their opponent’s offensive zone.

Right now, the team is 7-5, they are losing battles to the puck, even in their own zone, and that is causing turnovers on their side of the ice and golden scoring opportunities for their opponents.  Boston just scored two goals in the last two minutes of regulation.  The Rangers can block shots all they want, but they need to find away to control the rebounds off of Lundqvist.  Boston scored twice off constant pressure, and getting “dreamy” rebounds.  Lundqvist can only do so much, and he did stop nearly 40 shots on net, while the Rangers blocked another 21 shots on net.  And have I mentioned that the team needs to stop playing with the puck in their zone.  They kill so much time skating around their own zone trying to set something up and often they cough up the puck to the other team because the other teams fore-check.  That is also the reason we are struggling in the neutral zone. Too many turnovers:  Brad Richards almost coughed up the puck in the first play of overtime against Boston.

Oh wait, have I not mentioned the power play, or lack of a power play.  The Rangers are ranked 29^th, second to the last in the league, scoring four goals for forty power plays, and that was before the Boston game.  That is abysmal!  This team is too good to be so casual on the power play.  The players are Rick Nash, Marion Gaborik, Brad Richards, Carl Hagelin, and nobody wants to shoot.  SHOOT THE PUCK! Or set up the point, and let Del Zotto or McDonagh or Staal fire one from the point, but shoot the puck.  They pass way too much.  Look what happens when they shoot the puck, they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1.  Sometimes, they are constantly looking for the perfect goal, the pretty goal.  Well, since the last lockout and immersion of Sidney Crosby and his lacrosse style of scoring goals and batting them into the net (when will everybody realize that Malkin is the best player on the Penguins: I shouldn’t hate on Sidney Crosby so much, he’s one concussion away from becoming a Ranger) and the new crease rule, goals aren’t going to look pretty.  They are going to bounce off three sticks and go in.  Garbage goals are in!  Finesse is out!  Save it for the shootout!  Set up the point, shoot, and let Ryan Callahan (thank God he is back in the lineup) or Brian Boyle (I’m not happy he’s out of the lineup) get rebounds. REBOUNDS! They get out-manned in front of the net every single time.  That’s why you have Nash and Taylor Pyatt and Boyle and Callahan.  They should be putting pressure on the goalie and getting pucks in the net.

 

To Contact Alan or any AFRSports Columnist please E-Mail: Contact @AFRSports.com

 

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