Hindsight is 20-20, or in this case, 4-0. But there was a distinct turning point on which a Ranger disaster could have been averted. It's no coincidence that 90 seconds after the Rangers failed for the third time on the power play, Florida struck twice within 12 seconds to extend their lead to lights out at 3-0. 24 minutes of garbage time ensued during which a lot of trash was hurled at the Rangers by their fans. All for want of a power play goal.
Numbers don't lie -- we laid it all out before the game. This team rarely wins without a power play goal, and rarely is it so obvious how much the power play -- even a single power play -- can affect the flow of a game and other aspects of a team's play. And for a team with no other go-to point producer, the numbers also demonstrate that the Rangers rarely -- almost never -- can win without Nikolai Zherdev contributing at least a point. Instead of providing that much needed point, Zherdev was a non-factor and his line was an abyssmal -3.
OK, it was their misfortune to be on the ice when Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden (with ample assistance from their defense partners) made the critical mistakes that Henrik Lundqvist could not erase. And Zherdev's center, Brandon Dubinsky, was the one who blew his coverage on the goal scorer when Florida made it 3-0. But they could have made the difference down the other end, especially when they had the chance to do so in the first period. Ditto Scott Gomez's line, which has forty shots on goal between them on 74 shot attempts in the last four games with only an empty net goal to show for it.
But it's not nearly time to press the panic button. The 17-8-2 record is no illusion -- the Rangers have been finding ways to win even with so many areas of their game in need of improvement. To their credit, they have recognized as much every step of the way and are not fooled by their record. They have it within themselves to make the necessary corrections -- as players in the way they execute the game, as coaches in preparing game plans, and as a management team looking at roster improvements. This is a time to work on solutions in those areas -- and that starts with the power play, and maybe even ends there.
And as far as that goes, we have a memo for Tom Renney at Blueshirt Bulletin+ today: It's the power play, period. Not exactly rocket science, as Renney himself has been known to say. So let's get it fixed, then, if it's that easy. Also at BB+ are today's links and all reader comments. Click here to read BB+ if you subscribe to Blueshirt Bulletin and have registered for BB+ access. If you need instructions on how to access BB+, write to us at Blueshirt@mindspring.com. If you are not a subscriber, E-mail us or click here to learn how to subscribe to the magazine and get quick access to BB+.
Check out Brooklyn Hockey Guy's Q&A with Damian Echeverietta of the NHL -- illuminating on several fronts, with particular Ranger emphasis on Karel Rachunek's kicked-in playoff goal from two season back.
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