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Same Old Rangers Get Knocked Out by the Capitals in Game 7
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/28/09 at 10:00 PM ET
Comments (8)
This was a typical Tom Renney-style of hockey game for the New York Rangers and much like it did during the regular season, it cost them dearly. This time, however, it cost them the season as the Washington Capitals were able to come back from a 3-1 series lead to defeat the Rangers in Game 7 by a score of 2-1.
The Blueshirts looked great in the first period, outshooting the Caps by an 8-2 margin and getting a goal from Nik Antropov. However, they ended the period tied thanks to a fluky goal off the stick of Alexander Semin and from that point on, the Caps took it to the Rangers.
Much like during the regular season, the Rangers struggled to find offense and had to revert to relying on their defense and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to save the day. While Lundqvist was often spectacular in making 22 saves, the game-winning goal he allowed to Sergei Fedorov is one that I’m sure he wants back as he once again got beat high short side, something that happened a lot this series.
Now, I am not pinning the blame on the “King”. Again, he played well enough for the Rangers to win but unfortunately, the goal he allowed is probably one he should have had. As Greg Wyshynski posted on Twitter, Henrik’s grave will read “high, glove side”.
But that’s neither here or there as the Blueshirts did not deserve to win this game. They did not establish a forecheck in the third period, they didn’t throw enough pucks at rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov (the Rangers were outshot 25-15), and they were tentative with the puck. The Rangers definitely played with a lot of heart but they could not come through when it mattered the most.
It’s time to move on and start thinking about the off-season and the 2009-10 NHL season. These questions will have to be answered prior to the start of next season:
- Should the team keep Nikolai Zherdev?
- Should the team keep Antropov?
- Should the team keep Derek Morris?
- How will the team’s offense be improved during the off-season?
- What will the team’s defense look like next season?
- What team prospects will the Rangers have a good look at in training camp?
Obviously, a lot more questions will have to be answered as this is just the beginning.
While the Rangers are out of the playoffs, I will not be going anywhere so you can expect a lot (I say that loosely) of posts from me in the future.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: Alexander+Semin, Derek+Morris, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Rangers, Nik+Antropov, Nikolai+Zherdev, Sergei+Fedorov, Simeon+Varlamov, Tom+Renney, Washington+Capitals,
Comments
Should we have to keep Drury,Gomez,Redden?????Redden just stood there tonight and let a goal in.Zhedrev had the most points this year..Antropov had our only goal this game and they make nothing compared to Drury,Gomez and Naslund.Drury is a joke of wearing a C....Do you really think Jagr would have let it happen tonight?? He would have been the game breaker,
Posted by Kathy from nc on 04/28/09 at 10:09 PM ET
It really says something about this season when us Rangers fans have never stopped saying, “What if Jagr was still here?”
Posted by K24 from NYC on 04/28/09 at 10:21 PM ET
K24: its partially because its one of the most boneheaded moves in GM history to have not re-signed Jagr. Its downplayed because North American hockey fans gravitate towards North American players, but had Sakic or Yzerman been told that they weren’t wanted when they still had a few good years left there would have been an outcry.
Posted by bcrt2000 on 04/28/09 at 10:28 PM ET
The big question - what happens to our boy Wade Redden. Can we afford to keep his Salary vs. the amount of production. I still suspect a buy out here. But I could be totally wrong.
Posted by Performance Parts on 04/29/09 at 07:08 AM ET
I can’t imagine having to spend another 5 years with Redden..what’s going to happen..he’ll suddenly become good at this point? How exactly does a buy out work and how would it affect the salary cap next year?
Posted by Kathy from nc on 04/29/09 at 07:26 AM ET
bcrt: You’re preaching to the choir here. The only times I’ve been more upset about losing a player was when Graves and Leetch were traded. And it was only made worse when they signed Naslund and gave him the 2 years that Jagr wanted, and at about the same price that a lot of the “insiders” said it would take to bring him back.
Posted by K24 from NYC on 04/29/09 at 08:16 PM ET
No kidding!How embarrassing is it that Sather didn’t either bother to even negotiate! One of the greatest players in the history of the sport...made the rangers legitimate again .and he goes and signs Naslund??? Don’t forget Redden was going to be our rock on PP so who needed Jagr right???As you can see 9 months later,,,still bitter!!
Posted by kathy from nc on 04/29/09 at 09:30 PM ET
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About Goal Line Report
The Goal Line Report will focus on all things Eastern Conference. Do I have a bias towards the Eastern Conference just because I am a New Yorker? No, but it certainly does make things easier! I’ll make my opinions known on Eastern Conference news bits (as often as I can), big games, hot and cold players, trades (I don’t make things up) and anything and everything else related to the Eastern Conference that I think is important for hockey fans to know. I will, in every sense of the word, be the beast of the East while also making sure to drop my thoughts on other hockey news items.
I, Patrick Hoffman, have covered the NHL since 2003 and have worked for a variety of hockey media sources including: Stan Fischler, Spector’s Hockey, TheHockeyNews.com, HockeyBuzz.com, McKeen’s Hockey, Blueshirt Bulletin, XM Home Ice Channel Hockey Blog, HockeyPrimeTime.com, FantasyHockey.com. NY SportsDay, and HokejaVestnesis.com.
For questions, comments or to talk hockey, feel free to send me an e-mail at .
How exactly did they get the short end of the stick? They were outplayed, period.
- Should the team keep Nikolai Zherdev? Something tells me he’d go straight into Tortorella’s doghouse, but I don’t know if I’m ready to give up on his potential just yet.
- Should the team keep Antropov? Maybe. Didn’t do much in the playoffs, but then again, neither did anyone else.
- Should the team keep Derek Morris? No. Really, I didn’t notice him much since he came over from Phoenix. But with Girardi, Staal, Redden, Rozsival all locked in, and Mara likely to take less $$, I’d keep Mara and give the spot to a kid.
- How will the team’s offense be improved during the off-season? I seriously doubt it will be.
- What will the team’s defense look like next season? See above.
- What team prospects will the Rangers have a good look at in training camp? Anisimov, Sanguinetti, Grachev, Potter, Sauer
Posted by K24 from NYC on 04/28/09 at 09:26 PM ET