Saturday will in essence be a mental health day for Henrik Lundqvist, for with his team breaking down — and breaking bad — in front of him through the season’s hellish first week, the goaltender will watch from the bench as Martin Biron gets the start in St. Louis against the Blues.
Lundqvist, in his ninth season as a Ranger, has never looked as fried as he did following Thursday’s 6-0 defeat in Anaheim, during which the Ducks beat him six times within the first 36:15 of the match, a night after the Sharks beat him four times in 29:19 before he was pulled for Biron in the 9-2 debacle in St. Louis.
The goaltender was as obviously as shaken as he was concerned and mystified by the club’s all-encompassing ineptitude on their trek through the western time zone, appearing shell-shocked as he spoke to reporters in a long since deserted locker room a half-hour after the game had ended.
Biron was shaky indeed in surrendering five goals in 30:41 to San Jose, the fourth of which was the Tomas Hertl between-the-legs instant classic. Of course, he had no support, either. He will be called upon to try to settle down his team against the Blues while Lundqvist gets both the benefit of two practice days he otherwise would have forfeited and a stay of execution.
The 1-3 Rangers — doesn’t it seem as if they’re actually 1-13? — will somehow attempt to start Saturday’s match with confidence in their system and with trust in one another. That’s easier said than done.
These twin losses mark only the fifth time in franchise history the Rangers have been beaten by at least six goals in two consecutive games. The last time it happened, March 26-27, 2000 in 8-2 and 6-0 losses to the Red Wings, general manager Neil Smith and coach John Muckler were fired within 24 hours following the home-and-home sweep.
The 1984-85 team that finished 26-44-10 lost 10-4 at the Island and 6-0 at the Garden to the Devils on Nov. 17 and 18. The 1975-76 team lost 9-1 at Buffalo on Oct. 23, 7-1 at the Island on Oct. 25 (and then 7-2 at Philadelphia on Oct. 26). Ed Giacomin was gone within days, and then both Jean Ratelle and Brad Park were gone a week after that.
The 1942-43 team that finished 11-31-8 lost 7-0 in Detroit on Jan. 24 and 10-1 in Chicago on Jan. 28 during a season in which the Blueshirts lost four games by six goals, two by seven goals, and one by nine goals.
These Rangers have looked slow and puny, perhaps because they are playing without a shred of confidence. One breakdown invariably leads to the next. Players are colliding with one another in open ice. Their defense both against the rush and in their own end has veered into malpractice territory.
Opponents who gain speed through a wide open neutral zone routinely beat retreating defensemen wide. The front of the net is wide open. There is no offensive zone possession time; no forecheck game. They appear incoherent.
Alain Vigneault still seems to be assessing his personnel. It’s a new world with the Rangers, all right, with only one player — one — benched for his transgressions over the last two games.
That was Benoit Pouliot, who sat for the final 11:49 of the second after a) colliding with Taylor Pyatt to set off the chain reaction that led to the Ducks’ fifth goal into an empty net after Lundqvist’s mad dash to clear the puck failed; and, b) turning the puck over at the defensive line to spring the Ducks for their final goal of the night.