Fans of the New York Rangers have been witnessing a total breakdown of the team’s performance on the ice, and are hoping this Christmas brings good tidings.
By Patrick Comia
Perhaps a little relief came over the brows of New York Rangers fans, who have had to sit and watch the team do a total 180 on the ice, and play some uncharacteristic hockey not seen since the “dark ages”.
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In their previous 10 games, the Rangers were 3-5-2. What happened? How did it come to this?
Sure blame injuries to key players like Derek Stepan and Kevin Klein. As a result of their absence from the lineup, head coach Alain Vigneault had to juggle lines, mixing and matching, putting players in different roles, a revolving carousel of moves that would make on dizzy.
But, as we have been writing about for some time, there is a disturbance that has manifested itself on the ice that is making it hard for a fan to watch.
Three areas that are concerning to Rangers fans could dictate how well the team performs going forward:
– Defense
– The Kraken
– Henrik Lundqvist
These three areas need to improve. Correct that, MUST improve in order to build confidence that this team will be ok if they make the postseason.
The word “if” is used because we all know, things change in a heartbeat and if the Rangers’ play pre-Christmas break is any indication of things to come, well, you can cancel plans to attend a Stanley Cup Playoff game at Madison Square Garden in April and save up your vacation and sick days at work cause the Blueshirts won’t be on NBCSN.
But, if these three areas on the team do improve and perform the way we know they are capable of performing, then there is no reason to doubt the Blueshirts will make the postseason. It would only be a question of how they will go.
Just Want Our Defense To Be Back
That’s the number one topic heading into the holiday break, isn’t it? It’s almost on par with the “where’s the beef?” question.
Numerous hockey critics ranked the Rangers defense as one of the best heading into this season. And, with good reason past on their previous performances in seasons past.
But, was the assuming of the Rangers being one of the top defensive teams in the League just that, an assumption?
Mistakes such as over-committing on the ice, where all five players are found on one side, leaving at least one man open on the other opposite side. Leaving the man open in the slot, not getting the puck out of their own zone, and just playing all-round bad defense has made fans wonder: how the heck were they ranked as a top 10 defense in goals against?
Early in the season, the Blueshirts were, yes. But, that ranking has now plummeted and have looked anything but a top defensive corps. As of their last game versus the Anaheim Ducks, the Rangers are ranked 14th in the league with a goals against average of 2.53. Five of their past seven games, they have allowed five or more goals.
So for Christmas, we want our Defense back. If this is the last run of the Rangers defense, please let them live up to the hype.
Scoring From Kreider Wanted
The Rangers have all these names: Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, Emerson Etem, Derek Stepan, J.T. Miller, and so on. Veterans were moved in order for these guys to step up and play a pivotal role.
What we are getting is wasted effort, effort that involves getting the puck in deep and sustaining offensive pressure. However, too many times, are we seeing missed shots or bone-headed drop passes, or just flinging the puck to an area on the ice where no one is there to receive leading to a turnover.
These frustrations fall squarely the shoulders of Kreider.
Did you know know before Kreider scored against the Washington Capitals, he had not recorded a goal in over 10+ games? Seriously? And, this was one guy Rangers fans were counting on to help bolster the lineup and become a force to reckon with.
Up till now, he’s doing the opposite. Let’s hope Kreider gets all he wants tomorrow and is satisfied.
Hopefully that happiness carries over to an increased performance on the ice, because that’s what fans want from him.
The King To Rule With An Iron Fist
As a Rangers fan, it’s hard to bad-mouth Henrik Lundqvist. Practically, sacrilegious to criticize any part of his game.
If he lets in a goal, it’s always someone else’s fault. “That was on McDonagh”, “Bad coverage by Staal”, “Nash shouldn’t have turned the puck over, which started that odd-man” and the excuses go an on.
But, the buck has, and always will, stop with #30. Since his rookie year in 2005, he has been everything to the Rangers. He’s the Rangers franchise leader in almost every statistical category as a goalie.
However, the elusive Stanley Cup is the one feat he has yet to garner in his treasure hoard of accomplishments. And, it’s this desire that is probably driving him to do his best every night in goal.
But, his last couple of games have not aided in that quest. We saw him become mortal, and perhaps the decade-long wall he has built in New York is starting to break.
After the loss to the Winnipeg Jets, Lundqvist had this to say in his post game comments on NHL.com:
“All I can say is that right now for us to win games I need to play my absolute best…For us to turn it around, we need everybody to step up, and I need to make the extra save. It just has been a lot of chances in front, and it’s obviously something we’re talking about to try to fix, and I need to come with the extra save. I keep saying it. We’re really trying. We’re working hard.”
Early in the season, that was not the case. He was playing like Lunqvist always has, a pillar of frustration to would-be goal scorers. Making the impossible saves, possible. However, in the past 10 games, the King has not been himself allowing simple goals to get past, while continuing to bail out his teammates with mystifying saves.
The last thing fans want is the Lunqdvist we know and love! The man that got the Rangers back to respectability, and have become annual contenders for the Stanley Cup.