New York Rangers: About Last Night 10/13/14
The New York Rangers had their home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden last night. What was supposed to be an inevitable win for the Broadway Blueshirts actually turned out to be an overwhelming loss at 3-6. Now we’re not sore losers, but seeing the home team allow five goals in just one period is traumatic for any hockey fan. Below are more thoughts from the game.
Rick Nash: This man has been torn apart by critics commenting on his dwindling game, especially during the playoffs. Nash seems to be answering back this season by putting up points in all of the first few games. Last night, Nash scored a goal with an assist by Martin St. Louis tying up the game at 1-1 in the first period. Hopefully he can keep up the momentum after becoming a father. Nash was seen entering MSG in jeans and a shirt, not your usual suit and tie, because his wife was taken to the hospital in anticipation of the birth of their first child. During the second intermission, Nash left the game to be with his wife and newborn baby; a good call because some things really are more important than hockey.
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Referees: As if these guys didn’t cause enough irritation after the Rangers’ last game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, they continued to upset a lot of fans last night. The whistle was blown during most of the face-offs of the first period in order to switch the Rangers at the dot. After the eighth or ninth time this happened, you could see the frustration pouring out of Alain Vigneault. There were also a few very delayed whistles as well as overlooked penalties. However, the refs did one thing right by deeming the second goal a good one for the Rangers. The puck was shot into the net at the same time a Leafs player knocked the goal off the bearings. The goal was called a good one, partly because it was a legal goal in all reality, but mostly because an absolute riot would’ve broken out in MSG had the refs not allowed the goal.
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Rangers Defense in the Second Period: It was non-existent. How the Leafs managed five goals in 20 minutes is a mystery even to AV. Rangers defense looked incredibly slow and seemed to lack passion compared to in the first two games. Henrik Lundqvist looked lost in the crease. In the Leafs’ fourth and short-handed goal by James Van Riemsdyk, Hank left the five-hole wide open and all he had to do was sit on the puck to stop it from slowly crossing the line. It was after the sixth Leafs goal that Hank took himself out of the game and Cam Talbot filled in. Defense picked back up in the third period enough to help shorten the Leafs’ lead by half.
The Rangers seem to be weeding out bandwagon fans by specifically losing to the Leafs in the home opener, but the diehard fans know better. This team is capable of much more than what we saw last night. Tomorrow night’s game is a chance to prove just that.