...in which I do not complain at all about the officiating. Because the most important thing is to look inward and see what we did wrong (Spoiler Warning: Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev, and Wade Redden).
We actually started this game much better than either of our other losses. We came out strong, as did the Caps - the first time all series I thought to myself "Wow, here are 2 good teams playing at their best." They scored first, but I wasn't worried, and Gomez tied it up (on the power play, no less) only 1:06 later.
Then, the circus started. I'm not going to get into the details, because that would require quite a bit of complaining about officiating. Suffice it to say: Brashear did something very unsportsmanlike and dirty, and Betts was out of the game (he will likely also miss game 7). Paul Mara, may he be blessed for many years, went right after Brashear for it, and they each ended up in the box (for 2 minutes. But again, I'm not here to complain about the officiating).
The point here is: that was the end of retribution. And here is where the lack of a leader shines through. If the officials aren't going to do their jobs to settle the score, we have to. Some teams preach that you get back at a guy like that by scoring a goal the next shift. Some that you flatten him every time he takes the ice all game. Others still claim that next shift he's out there, you send a guy after him to cross-check him in the nose. I am not here to make any claims as to which school of thought prevails (all have their merit, though I fall most often in school #2). My complaint is that the Rangers did none of these. Instead, it seemed like everyone decided to empathize with Betts by all going out cold along with him.
After the incident, the Rangers were a completely different team. It all comes back to what we've been saying all along: there is no spark. There is no leader. Schoenfeld did a completely adequate job interimming (ew) for Torts, (in post-game interviews, I was as impressed by how much Schoenny channels Torts as I was by Perry Pearn channeling Renney), but that fire can't come from behind the bench. We played completely flat, and we don't have a Jaromir Jagr or an Alex Ovechkin who can, through firey play and a firey bench attitude, get his team back in it. Our bench is silent. Our "enforcer," Colton Orr, was scratched, presumably because of a combination of the "we need some dang offense" and "that Too Many Men penalty was his fault" factors. Not that I'm convinced he necessarily would have done anything, or that I disagree. But he could have.
Anyway, we didn't have to stay flat for very long. 7:20 later, it was 3-1 Caps. You see, we are playing a team that is very fucking good at hockey. Way better than we are! We can be forgiven for not having the talent they do, but given that, we can't be forgiven for being so goddamn unaccountable. The coaching party line is always: "we need more from our best guys, I don't wanna name names." I'm gonna name some.
Markus Naslund had what I believe to be his worst game since the coaching change. The CDC has no record of the Wade Redden Virus being contagious (although they do have some research concerning the mycobacterium ulcerans infection by a Jane Redden-Hoare), but I'm prepared to send in a paper. Every time Naslund found his way to the puck (usually because someone else sent it to his stick), he stopped and thought about it. Sometimes, he was driving to the net, and by the time he was done thinking, he was already there. Sometimes, he had a wide open net, and he stopped to make a couple of moves before he bothered attempting to shoot. Across the board, in the Tortorella world of "Safe is death," the motto in play seemed more like "Think before you act." That. Isn't. Working.
Naslund is not alone. Redden, of course, fell victim to his own virus as much as anyone else. Well, slightly more. It is his namesake, after all (or is he its namesake?). He cannot decide what to do with the puck, goddamn ever.
In other news, everyone else sucked, too! Zherdev is embarrassing. The guy that Torts calls "our most offensively talented player" spent yet another game not doing shit, despite 15:27 of ice time, more than each of 5 other forwards (admittedly, one was Betts) AND Paul Mara. If it were me, I wouldn't resign him. But I know Torts thinks he's great, so, well, I guess I have to give him another season to prove it.
Avery was a complete nonfactor. He finished no hits. He got on no one's case. I have a very strong theory about this that involves him going to the box every time he skated near someone for the entire time he's been back on the Rangers, but I won't expound: that would be complaining about the officiating. He needs to accept that he's going to be sent to the box for bullshit, and he needs to play his game anyway.
Once again, when the third period rolled around, we were down by 4, we had pulled Lundqvist, and we started to play some hockey again. You were probably too depressed to notice, but not only did we win the third period 2-0, we outshot them 11-2. Granted, that has something to do with all the makeup calls the refs handed us (we had 2 5-on-3s), but as you know, I am not complaining about the officiating. We played a solid period, especially given that half of it was without Dubinsky and all of it was without Betts. But, as you know, it didn't matter. We were out of the game.
So, there you have it. You'll note I didn't mention Lundqvist much here. That's because I'm not buying into the whole "Lundqvist has lost his touch" crap. He's still a fantastic goalie. He has always been easier to beat top-side than down low. We knew he had stood on his head like a crazyperson earlier in the series. And we've seen that he plays better when he has a solid team skating in front of him! Nothing is news. He will have a fantastic game on Tuesday, and it's up to the rest of the team to make that effort good enough.
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