 So Tom Renney said the Rangers need to shoot more. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) |
The Rangers are in Atlanta tonight to take on the Thrashers. The puck drops at 7 p.m., and the game can be seen locally on MSG2.
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Following Sunday’s loss against the Flames, I heard both Tom Renney and Henrik Lundqvist said the team played a good game, except they didn’t score.
Wait, what?
That’s like saying Thanksgiving dinner was great even though there was no turkey.
Maybe neither wanted to throw the team under the bus. I don’t know about Renney, but it’s something we’ve seen Lundqvist not want to do his entire time as a Ranger. He’s more likely to blame himself in an interview than anyone else.
But it continued in Renney’s press conference. When asked about the team’s offense and what it needs, he said the team needs to shoot more.
He says this about a team that had just played a game where they had 31 shots and outshot their opponent and were still shut out. He says this about a team that is third in the league in shots per game. And the Rangers are averaging one shot per game more than they did last season.
Chris Drury is averaging three shots per game, up from last season’s average. Scott Gomez is averaging 3.6 shots per game, up from last season. Most Rangers are averaging more shots per game this season than they were last.
Yet the Rangers need to shoot more? This is the big offensive issue? Renney is missing the boat here. It’s not that they need to shoot more. The Rangers need to take better quality shots.
Plus the line juggling isn’t being addressed, and it really is the top issue for this team. How can players create any chemistry and thus start scoring if they’re never together for more than a game or two? There’s changing lines when needed, but then there’s change just for the sake of change.
Pick something, stick with it for awhile and let things happen. Sometimes I think Wayne Gretzky wouldn’t even be able to score on this team because of the line juggling.
We all say the Rangers need another top six forward, but would it really matter? The line juggling would continue and the lack of chemistry would continue.
Want to spread some holiday cheer? The Rangers will be holding their annual toy drive Thursday at the pond at Bryant Park at 4-7 p.m. Bring an unwrapped toy and receive an autograph from several Rangers players.
Tonight’s anticipated line-up
The question is if Wade Redden will play tonight, but it sounds like Renney is leaning towards keeping him out of the line-up in favor of Corey Potter.
Redden has missed action because of a groin injury.
Read more about Tuesday’s practice here and here.
Pregame Poll
Last Rangers-Thrashers game
The Rangers and Thrashers last played on Oct. 30, a 3-2 win for the Blueshirts. Zherdev, Naslund and Girardi scored goals for the Rangers.
Last Rangers game
The Rangers last played on Sunday, a 3-0 loss to the Flames. An awful, awful game. The Rangers outshot the Flames 31-20, yet they didn’t score any goals.
Last Thrashers game
The Thrashers have been off since Saturday when they last played. They beat the Islanders 5-1. The broke a five-game losing streak for the Thrashers.
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Lets go Rangers!
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