New York Rangers: The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Game 2 – Ottawa

It seems like the Ottawa Senators always find a way to beat the Rangers. More likely, it’s just that the Rangers lost to Ottawa in a playoff series they should have won back in 2017 and that was the last time we have seen the Rangers in the playoffs. So perhaps it is just the insult still lingers, but regardless, the Senators are never easy for the boys in blue. Until last Saturday night.

The game was a complete domination, not just by Mika Zibanejad, but by the whole team. Even the defensive side that gave fans so much consternation after game one looked to have cleaned things up a hell of a lot in just two days.

Sure the Senators are bad….okay, really bad, but they hardly put a scare into the Rangers all night. And if the Rangers top line keeps performing at the level they showed in this game, there will be less frightful nights for the Blueshirts all season long.

Still looking for someone to get the puck to Kaapo Kakko, sure hope he doesn’t get frustrated quickly.  Gotta think Lias Andersson is going to get a shot at the number two center position.  The way he goes after pucks deep in the offensive zone and along the boards seems to be the right match for Kakko.  He can retrieve the puck and feed the big Finn.  Filip Chytil still seems to be the perfect match for Kreider and Kakko but he’s going to have to really show something in Hartford to get that shot.

Adam Fox looked calmer, and anyone who isn’t on board with Libor Hajek just doesn’t get it. He is really very good. Jacob Trouba is running the power play the exact way the Rangers had hope Kevin Shattenkirk would have, but didn’t.  Trouba is calm and confident on the blue line and the power play looks awfully good with him at the point.

Rangers fans should all enjoy each and every game that Alexandar Georgiev plays for the team, dude is a flat-out stud who could be the number one goalie on any number of teams in the NHL right now.  It is because of that fact that he will be gone sooner rather than later.  If a top contending team loses their number one, the Rangers should be their first call.  All the team can ask for in return is a very high draft pick or two.  Maybe Jeff Gorton can even pry a first round pick out of the deal.

Waiting It Out

The long week off has provided some entertainment for fans as the team cleared some valuable cap space on Monday when they shipped Vladislav Namestnikov off to the just pounded Senators.  Anyone who does not see this as addition through subtraction is not looking at the big picture.  This was a great deal.  Cap flexibility and room for another young gun on the big team.

It will be interesting to see if the Rangers keep both Chytil and Vitale Kravtsov in Hartford through the end of the week.  The healthy scratch of Kravtsov could either be a real concern or just a safe play before he comes to the Garden.

But all told, it’s a bed of roses right now on Broadway as fans patiently await game three. Rangers fans are so excited about the team that you could hear a “Let’s Go Rangers” chant at the New York Giants games this past Sunday.  And if you don’t think that’s a VERY BIG deal, think about the fact that the Yankees were in the middle of a playoff series at the time.

Yes, the fun has already started and fans can only hope it lasts, but as the sadly departed Tom Petty once sang……