New York Rangers Booed Out of MSG After Pathetic Effort

New York Rangers, Hey There is Always Next Year

Wow, what a time for the New York Rangers to put on one of their worst performances of the year. No, I correct myself, the other games in the running for “worst game of the year”, did not carry nearly as much importance as did Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If by some off chance you missed this game, consider yourself extremely lucky. By not watching you saved yourself from experiencing what it’s like to have high blood pressure. Although, I must say that by the time the second period ended, everyone who was still watching the game had pretty much gone numb with disappointment.

Needless to say, you did not miss anything, but if you still want to watch an awesome Penguins highlight reel just click play. Heed my warning, you will enter a slight depression after the completion of this video.

Team Loss, or the Nail in AV’s Coffin

Saying, “the New York Rangers gave a pathetic effort,” is actually inaccurate. I know that is the title of the article, but now that I think about it, to say someone, or a group of people’s collective effort was pathetic, implies that there was at least a fraction of a shred of effort expended at some point in time. At that time, if the effort being exhausted is poor, then it would be accurate to claim someone, or a group of people’s collective effort was pathetic.

Considering this definition, to claim that the New York Rangers put forth a pathetic effort last night, would be to high of praise for the statement to hold any truth.

I am not sure what happened, did AV host a team rave Wednesday night that the media somehow didn’t pick up on? I mean this “team” was nothing but lackadaisical from the second the Penguins took the lead (a full minute and nine second into the game) up until the final horn sounded .

More from Editorials

• Rangers’ Playoff Redemption Recipe: Grit and Fresh Hopes
• Rangers’ Roster Chatter: Who’s Making the Cut and Who’s in the Penalty Box?
• These Rangers must learn Peter Laviolette’s ropes before they can fly
• Filip Chytil Could Take Major Steps in the 2023-24 Season
• Looking forward to the upcoming season for Artemi Panarin

King Henrik was even pulled from the contest early on in the second period.

Part of me wants to blame the players. After all they are the ones who are participating. However, the lack of overall consistency and the poor judgement calls surrounding a set starting lineup comes down on Alain Vigneault.

It is apparent that a coach is in trouble when fans start to push back against him. The New York Rangers were in MSG and they are booed as they went on a power play. It was very apparent how the well paying, MSG faithful, felt about the Rangers performance.

There is also an obvious displeasure that fans all over the country feel towards AV. This is extremely apparent on social media sites. Vigneault’s ignorance to young talent and bias towards veteran players has hurt his team and his reputation.

AV placed a young and talented Oscar Lindberg into the lineup last night, but he barely saw the ice. I guess the move was a baby step in the right direction, but this is the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the New York Rangers just got utterly embarrassed at home; it is time for a drastic change.

Alain Vigneault either needs to learn how to scratch Tanner Glass and Dan Boyle, to make room for young talent like Kevin Hayes, Dylan McIlrath and Oscar Lindberg, or maybe it is time the coach found a new squad to manage.

The fact that Hayes is immensely better than Glass in the offensive zone, yet Hayes rarely gets ice time is inexcusable. The argument that the team needs Glass on the ice due to his physical play is null and void. With McIlrath playing, the Rangers can replace Glass’s physicality easily.

Next: New York Rangers Time to Choose Age Over Experience

Last night’s outcome cannot be placed entirely on Vigneault though. Players need to play and no one showed up last night. The New York Rangers may not have been put in the best situation to win, which is the coaches fault, but getting shutout by a rookie goaltender is completely on the team themselves. With players like Nash, Zuccarello, Stepan and Yandle, the Rangers should have no problem earning at least one goal a game.

The next game is in this series will take place in Pittsburgh and the Rangers will have their hands full. It will be tough to win their next game, let alone win the next three, but they have done it before. Who knows, maybe this was the beating they needed to wake up.