The New York Rangers fell to the Montreal Canadiens in game three tonight at Madison Square Garden. They lacked any source of energy on the ice and failed to generate enough offense.
It’s the same old story for the New York Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden. The team failed to win against the Canadiens, dropping their sixth straight home playoff game.
There were a lot of things that stood out tonight as reasons why the Rangers failed to get the job done. They couldn’t generate offense, they took bad penalties that they couldn’t kill, but most importantly, they seemingly had no energy.
This does not have to do with lack of rest. Rather, they just looked deflated as a group. Any time they seemed to get into a groove, they would take a penalty and kill the sudden burst of pace.
The solution for this lack of energy is a player who can step up and wake the team up. The Rangers are in desperate need of a reality check if they want to win the series, let alone another game.
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Stepan as the Energizer
This past December, the Rangers were going through a rough stretch. They had dropped a few games in a row, the most recent of the stretch being 7-3 against the Minnesota Wild at home just two days before Christmas.
The Rangers came out of the Christmas break with a home game against the Ottawa Senators. They quickly fell behind 2-0 in that game. It seemed like it would be another blowout for the Rangers as their woes would continue.
Derek Stepan was not about to let that happen. After the Rangers had gone down, he unleashed a monster on the bench. He was seen yelling at his teaming, encouraging them to get their head in the game.
Stepan scored twice that night on and the Rangers would go on to win 4-3. It was the spark the Rangers needed to get them back on track.
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Game Four This Tuesday
That same idea needs to be applied for game four if the Rangers want to salvage the series. Stepan doesn’t need to be the man to do it, but someone certainly does.
Tonight’s game may serve as the energizer in and of itself. The performance was embarrassing by all means and could wake the team up.
If not, I look to a veteran like Ryan McDonagh to get the team going. Maybe even Stepan once again.
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There are a lot of young players on this team that need a veteran to fire them up. It could be the biggest key for the Rangers if they want to move on to the second round.