The New York Rangers (20-19-5) were defeated tonight by the Philadelphia Flyers (22-15-4) by a score of 6-2. Scott Hartnell scored three consecutive goals and Antero Niittymaki won his fourth straight start for the Flyers. The Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period on a rare pair of goals from hard-hitting forward Ryan Hollweg. For a full recap go to Yahoo! Sports.
...the bottom line right now is that this is not a good team. Lundqvist's recent struggles have really unmasked the true identity of this team and its not good.
...for the first time this year, I'm actually going to blame Sather for this. The moves he made in the off-season have obviously made this team worse. Without Nylander, Jagr is lost; not having a non-stop ball of energy in Ortmeyer is hurting us; bringing in high priced free agents has once again not worked for this team; having a defenseman like Thomas Pock, who helped us get into the playoffs and then to the second round, sitting in Hartford has made this team worse; not securing a capable veteran backup goalie to spell Lundqvist has hurt Lundqvist. Not sure a single personnel move made since the end of last season has actually benefitted this team.
...now to Lundqvist. I know he has a lot on his plate with everything going on with his father, but he has been brutal lately. It might be time to shut him down to let him figure some things out and either look to sign a Curtis Joseph or bring up Montoya. I know that's beyond a panic move, but something has to be done. Its not even the bad goals he's giving up, its his body language during the game. It doesn't look like he's giving 100% sometimes.
...speaking of something needs to be done. Its time for a trade. And I'm not talking a Malik or Prucha for another struggling third liner. I'm talking, if you can get someone to take their salaries, unloading either Gomez or Drury, and trying to get Nylander back on this team. Maybe Washington would take a young cheap player for him like Prucha, Callahan or Dawes. Again I know I'm throwing out panic move after panic move, but you know what, sitting around and waiting for this to just magically turn around won't make this team better.
...and for the Renney bashers out there, get used to him being behind the bench because he's not going any where. Look at how bad the Knicks are and Dolan refuses to fire Isiah.
...I just read all of that back and I sound like a true out of control Ranger fan. I love it.
3 comments:
Leetch was the man!
I haven't seen a goaltending performance like that since Dunham was is goal for the Rangers. Or J.F. second season with Sexual Chocolate.
Oh Yeah, FIRE RENNEY and bring up big Al to play goal.
Has everyone lost there minds. Is NYRFan serious. Trade Drury or Gomez and bring back Nylander? This team is full of Ortmeyers! (ie, Prucha, betts, hollweg....all energy no goals) What a joke. Does anyone think its wrong that all possible moves or problems surround JAGR. Everything is about making him happy or comfortable. Drury and Gomez are the future of this franchise, and JAGR is a possible free agent next year. Dont get me wrong Jagr is one of the best in the game and would love to keep him in NY. But he is moody, has to be surrounded by Soft European players, doesnt back check and when he does takes a hooking penalty everytime, even on power plays. Jagr brought the Rangers back to being respectable and a playoff contender. However, with the type of system this team wants to play it might be time to say thank you and goodbye.
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