CHICAGO — If anyone is searching for a reason why the Rangers have the NHL’s 29th overall record since Oct. 17, their 2-1 overtime loss last night in which they were overwhelmed by the Blackhawks stands as Exhibit A.
Despite getting a point on the strength of Henrik Lundqvist’s brilliance — in the match in which Chicago not only had 41 shots to the Blueshirts’ 18, but an overwhelming 75-32 advantage in attempts — the Rangers lacked the size, strength, speed and commitment to handle one of the NHL’s most powerful teams.
Even worse, this crew has gone 7-13-2 since opening 7-1 (just Carolina is worse since Oct. 17 at 5-14-4), the Rangers barely competed. In a game of rope-a-dope in which the King nearly pulled a Zaire-like robbery, the dopes ultimately got roped into their fifth loss (1-4-1) in their last six matches.
“Henrik, he’s the one who played — about the only one who played,” an angry head coach John Tortorella said after the match. A game the Blackhawks finally tied on a Jonathan Toews’ power-play goal at 14:05 of the third before winning it on Dustin Byfuglien’s unassisted dash down the left wing at 3:43 of overtime with Marian Gaborik notably deficient on the back check.
“Forget about offense. That’s not my concern tonight,” said the coach whose team has scored two goals or fewer in 14 of the last 18, and no more than one goal in nine of those contests. “My concern is the level of competing which was void as far as I’m concerned.
“If the guys thought they tried tonight, they are in for a rude awakening. This is the best team we’ve played; I understand that. But I thought we stunk.”
To their minimal credit, the Rangers did not think they had tried hard enough. When told of Tortorella’s remarks, Sean Avery seconded the motion.
“I think that’s an accurate statement,” Avery said. “I mean, look at the shots; look at the game.”
Uh, we did. The Rangers rarely had the puck. When they did, they couldn’t keep it. When they lost it, they couldn’t retrieve it. The forecheck game did not exist. Toughness in front of Lundqvist was imaginary.
“I can’t explain why, but we were flat. We had no legs,” Chris Drury said. “We didn’t play hard enough. We know that’s how Torts feels about it, and I can’t disagree.”
Lundqvist was spectacular in somehow managing to make Christopher Higgins’ first period goal stand up for as long as he did. This was a night on which he, not Clayton Moore, played The Lone Ranger.
Brilliance is one thing. Pulling off a miracle is quite another. And when the Rangers were hit with three deserved penalties within a span of 7:03 through the gut of the third period, the masked man simply could not complete the two-point theft.
Toews’ score came on a backhand chip in front with Lundqvist sprawling frantically, Wade Redden and Matt Gilroy as goal-mouth bystanders, and Dan Girardi in the box for tripping Patrick Kane.
“He was coming. I got my stick between his legs and I knew he was going to go down,” Girardi said. “It was bad stick position on my part.”
It was a terrible performance on the part of the Rangers, 29th overall in the league over the last eight weeks. The long winter is just beginning.