A Tale of Two Power Plays

Say what you will about the way the Rangers played last night -- and the team had a lot to say about how unhappy they were with themselves. But they also reminded us that they haven't been completely happy with themselves despite winning all five before last night. The difference in every case -- on the positive side of the ledger in five wins and on the downside in last night's loss -- has been special teams play. That's just the way the NHL is these days -- tight checking enough to bore Czech fans to tears and ultimately decided by who can or cannot kill the key power play when the game is on the line.

Until last night, it was the Rangers who killed off not just the key power plays but all 21 disadvantages they faced -- the five-on-three the Flyers had in a one-goal game was a huge difference maker between a regulation win and some other outcome. Meanwhile, all five of their own power play goals were difference makers -- the game winners in three of the five wins, an equalizer in another game they went on to win, and a clincher in one other game. Last night, the tables were turned -- the Sabres equalized with a power play goal, got the game winner with a power play goal, and got the clincher with a shorthanded goal with the Rangers looking to tie the game up with the man advantage.

As uninspired as the Rangers played, the Sabres weren't exactly getting things going either. So the game boiled down to a tale of two power plays -- the major penalty Paul Mara took for punching out Patrick Kaleta and the double-minor Craig Rivet took for a high stick. With the game tied, Buffalo got the go-ahead goal on their power play. "Momentum only comes if they score," Chris Drury said when asked if that turned the game the Sabres' way. "The first two-plus minutes we actually did a pretty good job, after that [goal] we did a pretty good job -- just a breakdown by all of us in the neutral zone and it's a goal."

On the flip side, with Buffalo clinging to that one-goal lead and the Rangers getting a chance to atone for a lackluster first two periods with a double-minor early in the third, they not only failed to capitalize, they allowed a shorthanded clincher to be scored against them. Wade Redden misplayed a Buffalo clear, but it was still one-on-one against him, which he played well. Then it became a two-on-one when Thomas Vanek outraced Drury to the slot. "Obviously not a good time to give up a shorthanded goal," Drury said. "I've gotta be better defensively -- I just lost my guy. No excuse."

One game earlier, Renney was figuring out how to delegate credit for his perfect penalty killing and timely power play. "That's a credit to Perry," he said of assistant coach Perry Pearn, who is in charge of special teams play. "He has an idea of what I like to see in all cases. I give him the pen. We have the personnel who can execute what we think can work. They're attentive people. You've gotta pay a price to make both work, and the guys are doing that right now." But a warning bell rang late in the last game when the Rangers overpassed themselves right out of a five-on-three power play against the Devils. "We were pretty good five on four," Renney quipped when asked if the passing was a tactical shift with the two-man advantage. "No, that wasn't part of the program." But he could still joke about it then -- "We'll give Perry hell for that," he said.

Last night, the power play program continued to deviate from what Renney wants to see. "That's a fair assessment," he said when asked about continued overpassing. "A couple of things happened. We didn't shoot. We have defensemen who have good shots -- we may have to flip them to have them on their one-timers [switch sides to get them forehand shots]. We need traffic at the net. But the other thing you need is the desire to hunt down pucks that are loose, get them back and make plays. Buffalo did a good job of pushing to the outside, keeping us on the dasher, eliminating the opportunity for us to make plays. But all that requires is more hard work, short-pass the puck, move it quickly -- there is open ice out there, but we were trying to force it."

Buffalo's big power play chance came on Mara's solo fighting major. He was hit high by Kaleta, the same type of hit with which Kaleta broke his cheek bone last season. Mara was not going to let him get away with that again, even as the referees let him get away with it again. Renney refused to fault Mara. "All I want is decisiveness," he said. "He made a decision, he dealt with it -- at least he made a decision and fought. We had some guys out there who made no decisions tonight. It's a tough penalty -- Paul made a choice, he tried to fight a guy. When you're having one of those nights that you're less than inspired, from a passion perspective, at least he demonstrated that. At the end of the day I have no problem with it."

Not only did Renney not have a problem with it, he let his players know that that was the kind of passion he wanted to see from all of them. "I came into the dressing room and I suggested to the guys that Paul made a choice at least," he said. "At least it showed the requisite passion and emotion that was missing throughout our line-up tonight. So I'm not going to fault him for that -- at least he cared enough to put himself in harm's way." Scott Gomez came to his defense as well. "Paul Mara has been one of our best defensemen," he said. "He's stepped up his game completely this year -- he's a whole different player. You're never gonna blame that on him. It would have been nice to kill it off for him, but he did what he had to do and we had his back 100%."

For his part, Mara called out Kaleta's cowardice, both in leaving his feet with his check again, in refusing to defend his act in the fight, and then in making what Mara said was a "chickenshit" remark during the ensuing scrum. "I made a decision," Mara said. "Enough's enough. If he was a man he'd have dropped the gloves. I did what I had to do and it's over. I'll always remember that hit. It was a pretty classless move to ask me how my face was. He wasn't a man to stand in there and fight but he can leave his feet and run around whenever he wants."

The bigger issue the Rangers face is this: They were winning despite being unhappy with themselves. The next step they wanted to take was to eliminate the lapses and win with a complete effort. Instead, sloppy play came back to haunt them and lead to this loss against a team that, let's face it, is just not as good as it used to be. "It wasn't like the coaching staff was overly happy with the whole 60 minutes we played throughout the winning streak," said Markus Naslund (or whoever that is wearing the #91 sweater). "We are aware we have a lot of work to do."

"It's not going to go your way every night," Renney said. "We have to understand that, accept responsibility for it and build off of it for the next 60 minutes. You learn from it and put it in its place," said Drury. "Wake up tomorrow and be ready for tomorrow. It's all you can really do. You can't really look back -- you just get ready for the next game."

[Memo to Pat Rissmiller -- if we (the media) notice that you spend more time after games hanging out near the visiting locker room than in your own, surely your teammates and coaches notice too. The way players move around these days, there are some Rangers over at the visitors' room after every game catching up with old friends. But you're always there, even when you're not talking to anyone.]

Comments

[rangerbill94]

Some good words all around. But, words don't win games. The passion level was low, but then again, it can't remain high all the time. Good for Paul Mara, we need some more of that. But now it's time for Drury (in particular), Gomez and Nasland to get their act together. We have won because of the second line and that's great. These are 3 guys, 19, 23 & 91, who generally go to the front of the net and make things happen. The three of them need to get the defense engaged. So come Friday night I expect to see the 1st line producing. That opens it up for everybody else. We have the Wings, Stars and the Pens, all before the end of the month. We need to make this a very successful month. A good start puts pressure on the others in our conference and that should be good for us.

[.Sioux-per-man]

Ranger I would be happy if they get 4 out 6 points playing those teams. I just want to see the Rangers playing like they did in the first period against the Devils.

[Anthony M]

I could have sworn I saw the referee's arm up when Kaleta took his run at Mara and before Mara started throwing punches. Did anyone else notice this or am I nuts? The best shot MSG was from the far end of the ice that showed the play and the ref in the corner.

[JUSTIN]

I was wondering what everyone thought of the play of Callahan? We all know the usual whiping boys, Lori, Dawes, Prucha etc..
Now, I know Callahan kills penalties and hits but whens the last time he did anything else? He fanned on a few shots from prime real estate in front of the Buffalo net, you gotta take advantage of every shot you can when playing those guys.
I think maybe he should be on the 3rd line?
I dont know I just havent been impressed with his play at all.
Naslund either, but thats another post for another day!

[Dubi]

Anthony, I saw that too -- I saw the ref's arm up and I heard the whistle blow and only then did I see Mara start throwing punches. I was expecting Kaleta to get the major or at least a minor for his high hit and coincidentals for the fight.

[rangerbill94]

JUSTIN

Callahan is on the third line. Right now I could not expect the third line to be doing very much. It is the testing ground for Prucha, Rissmiller and Fritsche. I'm sure Renney expected he could count on the 1st line to provide more scoring so the first two lines would be getting the production while he fiddled around with line #3. The 3rd line is the key to this teams success. If Korpo can't pick it up soon, I'm afraid Renney will send him down and go with Fritsche at center with Pru, or Dawes on one wing and Cally on the other. Korpo made the team fair and square, but he needs to keep it up. That line MUST produce. That's all there is about it.

[cwede]

Agreed Anthony and Dubie - I told my guest, and the guys around me, that the ref in the corner had his arm up, and I was confused that only Mara ended up in the box (locker room).
Re Cally, yes he's been invisible for most even-strength shifts lately.
I didn't mind Renney changing up the lines in the 3d.
I'd consider sitting Korpi for Fritsche for some of these 3 in 4 nights.
I'd actually send Korpi to play 2d line minutes in Ontario with Hartford for the weekend.
Either put Fritshce at center for Korpi, or slide Drury back to C for a while, and elevate Fritsche/Sjostrom/Callahan/Prucha to the Gomer/Nalsund line to get them going.
Sjostrom has impressed me, he's shown consistent effort and effectiveness, he's earned his regular ice time.

[Alan]

dubi, anthony, cwede: ditto for me too. i'm following the play down the boards and buffalo got the puck and the whistle blew. i look up at the blueline and then i see mara pummeling that chickenshit. i figure a five for us after the original two. and there was a long conference between the officials at center ice before the announcement of the mara penalty. very odd.

the officiating in the last two games left a lot to be desired too, with some offside calls last night that seemed to my eye to be not off, and then the weak penalty call on rosi that led to the goal when you can see clearly the guy jumped over rosi's leg. the same thing happened later in the game with a sabre playing rosi's role and no call.

with all the other changes this team has gone through, does anyone think renney will re-think his running out all 4 lines no matter the score, no matter how much time left? he did it all last year and last night was the first time this year that we've been down in the 3rd and he did the same thing. i thought we weren't gonna be predictable but betts and orr not missing a shift when we're down two with the game on the line, i mean, come on. he predictably rolled all the lines and changed a forward on each for about half the 3rd period. a sense of urgency to mix up the line combos, ok, but none to keep guys who will never score when we need a goal off the ice? priceless. that's the main reason why we need scoring on the 4th line.

and these are just observations. we're 5 and 1 and i'm as happy as i can be about that start.

the revolving wing-door on the 3rd line needs to stop. i pick fritsche. the three of them should be able with their speed to generate scoring. i think the chances prucha had last night might convince some team to take him because he ain't gonna get it done here. it won't happen. trade him now before it's way too late. and rissmiller must be hanging around the opposing team's locker room to see which one he might want to play for. the one bad off-season signing.

[Andrea]

LOL Alan! I thought the SAME thing when I read Dubi's memo, that maybe he was laying in wait to talk to other coaches. And yep, the arm was up in the corner and I too wondered why the little puke didn't get called.

But yeah, 5-1 ain't too shabby! They cannot call it in tomorrow night vs the Laffs.....

[cwede]

Damn we don't see this often enough:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/powerranking
Power Rankings:
1 Rangers 5-1-0 Though they lost to Buffalo, the Rangers started the season well overseas and didn't miss a beat in posting wins against rivals Philly and New Jersey upon their return to the States. Question now is, do they really want to bring back Brendan Shanahan after a start like this?

[elsie]

Mitch at Howlings just posted that Skokan, is going back to Czech/Slovakia to play, rather than continue in North America after season(s) in Junior, just like Kveton, Psurny, Bahensky and Zeliska.
Zaborsky had more success in Junior than any of them, and earned a NYR/NHL contract, unlike those guys.
But maybe why so few Czechs/Slovaks were drafted in June wasn't only due to skill, but likelihood of them sticking it out over here thru the developing/young years.
Here's hoping Kundratek is also keeper.

[mhurley]

Bottomline, last night the team collectively elected to pass and not shoot. Beefalo's trap was very effective. Rangers couldn't break out and when they had possession in front of Miller, they didn't really challenge him. Henrik wasn't as sharp as he had been in the first five games. The defense was gassed due to the absence of Mara. Even so, Redden has been very disappointing. In each of the first six games all of the defensemen have been having issues.

With regard to Mara, I applaud him. He has been brilliant so far this season. He has done a 180 from the way he played last year. Kaleta is a cowardly little puke. Every single Ranger better have him lined up next time we play Buffalo. If I'm Ruff, I'd scratch Kaleta for his own protection.

And yes, the post game show showed that Kaleta lined up Mara for a late hit. He was charging. He left his feet. The ref's arm went up as soon as he saw Kaleta hit the boards as he sideswiped Mara. I'm not sure if it was Frazier or Kozari. They both suck.

[paulinflorida]

Last night was like an episode of the "Invisible Man" or in this case the "Invisible Men". Starring in the order of appearance--Madison Square Garden, Markus Naslund, Chris Drury, Nikolai Zherdev, Ryan Callahan, Aaron Voros, Wade Redden, Dimitri Kalinin. Co-staring--Scott Gomez, Petr Prucha, Brandon Dubinsky and anyone else that stepped on the ice for the Rangers. Hey, it's only one game and maybe the team can build off a bad game...Let's Go Rangers !!

[akayama49]

Well at least we can't blame last night's fiasco on Dawes. Is he still on the Rangers roster? From plus/minus leader to zero in one month. Amazing developmental system! Three games in four night's coming up and he's on almost noone's radar.

[Paul R _ _ _ _ _ D]

its only 1 game and if they were not happy with the way they were playing before maybe this will light a fire under their collective asses and play at a level they are happy with and do it for a full 60 minutes!

[LisaMY]

Yes, this is a tired team. Remember they've played more games than any other team in the league right now (including preseason) and in a shorter period of time, and also played four games overseas. They will get their stamina and legs soon enough and get into a regular rhythm. Give.them.a.break. If this is still happening in December, then they're in dire need of a serious butt-kicking.

The "other" wing position (aka "not Korpikoski") on the Rangers 3rd line has become the equivalent of Spinal Tap's drummer position. There's always somebody new. I'm also expecting Petr Prucha to spontaneously combust in the next game he plays.

To Dubi: looking at your memo to Rissmiller; it makes me wonder if you, or another journalist, mentioned this to him and he got "snippy" about it. As a fan, I don't like the sound of it. It makes me wonder, what's his problem with this team and/or with his teammates? It also makes me wonder, what are the coaches are going to do about it?

[i]

if they are a tired team, they have 3 extra forwards to step in and give guys a rest. That's one reason why they are there.

[angry]

Callahan hasn't finished, but he's certainly been involved. He's always working, always hitting, always buzzing, doing a fine job on the penalty kill. I have no complaints about his effort, nor about his smarts, nor about his skill. I believe his points will come - especially if he periodically gets time with more offensive wingers.

Rissmiller, on the other hand, strikes me as a quiet guy, ill-suited to the bright lights. I thought he had a pretty decent game against - was it Chicago? - but if he doesn't like his teammates or his circumstance, Sather'd be doing him a favor by eating his contract.

[rangerbill94]

Tonight will be a special teams game unless we break loose the 1st & 2nd lines. The Leafs have a poor PK and our PP should be able to take advantage of that. Their PP isn't very good, so our PK should take care of that.

Anybody see the Tampa game last night? Malik will be a great improvement! I'm not kidding!!!

[paulinflorida]

Indeed the Rangers first line must get going which will take some pressure off the second line. Without the pressure on the second line to carry the team they can get back to 'having fun' and making things happen. The interesting part is that the first line is part of the first power play unit which also must get going. Hopefully, with some good five on five play from the first line it will carry over to the power play...or visa versa..either way it's a must to be successful. Eventually, I think Tom Renney will have to make some decisions on the third line players and keep a line intact for a few games to see if he can get some consistent production.

[RobZ]

Rangerbill, I watched that game, that was awful....Tampa looks like a team with no purpose on the ice. They are truly searching for an identity....

Anyone watch the Debs-Thrasher game? There had to be about 6,000 people....Resch pointed out that they have a section for $40 where you get free food.....Wow talk about a hard time selling tickets.

We need a good 4-0 WIN tonight. LGR!!!!!!