Sad Wings of Destiny: Rangers’ Playoff Hopes Lie With Devils After 3-0 Loss

It was supposed to be grand night at Madison Square Garden. The winner of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award was revealed for the player who exemplified going above and beyond the call of duty all season long. The Blueshirts had a chance to control their playoff destiny, only needing a point out of the game against the Atlanta Thrashers. Everything seemed to set up well for the Rangers….And then the game happened. What the Garden faithful witnessed was a disheartening, listless performance by a Rangers’ team barely showing any life, devoid of any vigor for 60 minutes.

Atlanta came out of the gate a bit behind, seeming to go through the motion but the Rangers could not muster enough to take control of the game. It proved costly as the Thrashers scored 2 goals in a 15 second span in the 2nd period by former Islander Rob Schremp and Thrashers captain Andrew Ladd. Eric Boulton would pad the Atlanta lead at 4:19 of the 3rd period to make it 3-0. It would end up being all the Atlanta Thrashers would need to defeat the Rangers, who more importantly beat themselves on this night.

Let’s take a closer look at what occurred during the game…

The Good:

Thoroughly happy Brandon Prust won the Extra Effort Award. Prust has made himself a fan favorite this season with his gritty play, his willingness to sacrifice mind, body, & soul for the Rangers’ shield, and his timely shorthanded goals. Having Ryan Callahan, the winner the past 2 years, come out with his ankle brace & crutches lifted the Garden crowd to a standing ovation and chants of “Cally…Cally.” Sadly, it was all downhill from here.

If you’re Henrik Lundqvist, how tough does it get being the goalie for this team? Once again, Lundqvist cannot be singled out as the goat in this game as he kept his squad within striking distance as he always does. Unfortunately, his team couldn’t muster up enough offense, or effort for that matter, to bail him out.

The Bad:

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, the usually reliable pair on defense, both had rough games. combining for a minus 4. Girardi, specifically, was the biggest offender. Constantly out of position, stick checking rather than taking the body. The rigors of the long, 82 game season, routinely logging over 25 minutes of ice-time a game might have finally taken its toll on both.

How many times do you hear players, coaches, and announcers say to clear the puck hard out of your zone? If you try to get too cute with the puck, eventually its going to cost you. That’s exactly what happened with Sean Avery on the 1st Thrashers goal. Whether he intended to or not, Avery’s soft outlet into a turnover caught the Rangers going up ice and in a bad spot.

The more I watch Erik Christensen, the more I seethe. The man righteously aggravates me.

Another invisible performance for Marian Gaborik. And the only time he was visible, it was from making mistakes. His laziness directly lead to the Thrashers 3rd goal as Gaborik did not back check hard enough to cover his man. His decision to stick-check inadvertently deflected the puck past his goalie. If/when the offseason comes, management should exercise due diligence in their options with Marian Gaborik. I’m not saying he can’t turn it around on Broadway, but I’m not sure if he’s cut out to play in New York under John Tortorella’s system.

The Ugly:

The fact the Rangers could go from such an uplifting, emotional comeback just 3 days earlier to an absolute dud like this breeds no explanation considering how much was still at stake. Granted, they were atrocious the first period and a half of that game but did find a way to spark a comeback. The same couldn’t be said for this game. They started out good but fell flat and couldn’t rebound. Who do you blame for an effort like this? The players? The coaches for not preparing the team enough? All the above?

The amount of chasing the Rangers did defensively was disturbing. They were confused all game long on defensive coverages. You barely saw any Rangers taking the body. Combining a lack of effort with poor defensive play is a recipe for disaster.

Chronicling the Rangers power play still, it’s a 1-27 skid.  Special teams wins you games in the regular season and can be crucial in stealing playoff games. Not having a consistent power play threat has cost the Rangers a significant amount of points this season.

Passing instead of shooting has become an epidemic with the team. You can go down the roster and single out almost everyone who passed up chances to shoot to either pass, make a move etc. It just makes you that much easier to defend if you’re not willing to shoot.

Where They Stand:

Not collecting any points has stricken control from the Rangers’ hands. They still sit in 8th in the East (43-33-5 91 pts), with Carolina (39-30-11 89 pts) just 2 points behind them with 2 games to play. The Rangers need a win on Saturday to get in to the playoffs and Carolina to lose one of its final games. Anything less will be a 2nd consecutive season out of the playoffs.

Next Game:

In a sick and twisted reoccurring nightmare, the Rangers’s season once again comes down to the 82nd and final game. This time against the division rival New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 12:30PM. It will be Playoffs or Bust.

Make sure to check out Thrasher Backer on Fansided to get their thoughts on tonight’s game.