You knew it couldn’t last forever. The Rangers weren’t going to win the remainder of their games this season.
But who knew the Rangers would do it in such spectacular fashion, losing 7-3 to the Sharks. And then they followed up one bad loss with a loss to the rival Devils at home. Then there was the the overtime loss to Montreal. Hooray for the loser point.
It was a good week for me to be busy with work and miss every game except Saturday’s in Montreal.
But welcome to panic mode here at Rangerland, where players need to be traded or sent to Hartford after a few poor games. Taking things to extremes? That never happens here.
My biggest concern right now is defense and Lundqvist. Rozsival and Redden are the easy targets with their big contracts, but I don’t think they’re the biggest problem. Staal and Girardi need to be split. They’re awful together and have been struggling. And this needs to be figured out before the two rookies hit the stretch where they’re worn down and make some mistakes.
As for Lundqvist? It’s not his glove hand that has me worried. If this was a case of “he’s been figured out,” it would have happened a lot sooner than now. What has me concerned is how much everyone runs him. And it’s not just the other team. Brandon Dubinsky bowled over him on Saturday night, sending Lundqvist to the ice with an injury. He stayed in the game but confessed after the game his foot still was stiff. The Rangers need to start clearing out the traffic around Lundqvist too. They need to protect their goaltender. Or Lundqvist could just start beating people with his stick. I’d find that far more entertaining.
Tough week coming up for the Rangers where they’ll play every other day. They have Phoenix at home tonight, the Islanders out on Long Island Wednesday, on the road in Minnesota on Friday and back home for Boston on Sunday.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Valiquette back out there this week, even though he was in net for the San Jose game. Tortorella has committed himself to Lundqvist playing less, a good thing whether it was an Olympic year or not, and this is the week to do so. Plus playing Valiquette so soon after a bad loss would be good for him to build his confidence. The question is when.
Phoenix isn’t quite the pushover they have been in the past based on their record. Any Islanders game is emotional, and you can be sure the new kids on the block there will want to make an impression. What will Taverez do? Minnesota is a homecoming for Gaborik, and Boston is always tough for the Rangers.
I’m sure Dubinsky and Higgins will be a topic of conversation heading into tonight’s game, but I’d be shocked to see them not play. Both admit they deserved to be benched for making mistakes. Both say they want to do better. And Tortorella is the type who throws the guys right back out there after a benching. Rozsival earlier this season is a perfect example of it.
As for Christopher Higgins, I’m hoping he scores his first goal soon. It’s apparent to me he’s pressing a bit to get that first goal. He makes mistakes, I think, because he’s putting pressure on himself. Remember, he’s a New York kid coming to his hometown to play. His dad is a firefighter. His brother is a police officer. That’s got to be a lot of pressure. It’ll take some time to adjust, and I think the first goal is going to be a huge step towards that happening for him.
Or the Rangers could just trade him. Because that seems to be the answer around here for when a player struggles.
Last Week
Monday: Sharks 7, Rangers 3
Thursday: Devils 4, Rangers 2
Saturday: Rangers 4, Canadiens 5 (OT)
This Week
Monday: versus Phoenix, 7 p.m. (MSGHD)
Wednesday: at Islanders, 7 p.m. (MSG2)
Friday: at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (MSG2)
Sunday: versus Bruins, 1 p.m. (MSGHD)
Weekly Poll
Highlights of the Week
Gaborik scores on Montreal
Rangers blogs
Blueshirt Bulletin
Rick Carpiniello’s Rangers Report
Andrew Gross’ Rangers Rants (Gross on Twitter)
Hockey Rodent
Michael Obernauer’s Blueshirt Blog
Steve Zipay’s On the Rangers Beat (Zipay on Twitter)
