The choke-hold on a playoff spot is history. Now the Rangers have four games remaining in order to avoid a choke-job that would leave an indelible black stain on the season.
It’s difficult to imagine a more miserable response to Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat in Buffalo than the abomination the Rangers served up at the Coliseum last night in their 6-2 fiasco of a defeat to the Islanders that left the number at eight to clinch a postseason berth, but that numeral is starting to have tragic rather than magic overtones.
On Tuesday morning, the Rangers had a seven-point lead over the ninth-place Hurricanes. Two ensuing Carolina victories plus two Ranger losses equals a three-point difference in the race, with the ‘Canes now holding a game in hand.
“It was unacceptable effort and execution,” said Ryan Callahan, who was on the ice for two of the four goals the Islanders scored in the second period while linemate Brandon Dubinsky was on for three as the Rangers simply imploded.
“There’s no excuse for it. There’s no excuse for being outworked and outbattled. To a man, we know this is unacceptable.”
Following the loss to the Sabres, John Tortorella blasted his team for playing a Game 77 with a Game 25 mentality. But the coach last night had essentially nothing to say after his team executed with a preseason mentality against an opponent that played as if it were Game 7 of the Cup Final, the Super Bowl and the Heavyweight Championship of the World wrapped into one night.
“You’re not going to get much out of me,” said Tortorella, who couldn’t get anything out of his team. “I’m not going to address anything.”
The ineptitude was shocking, specifically on the power play that was an utter failure late in the first and early in the second while the Rangers attempted to build on a 1-0 lead, and then in defensive-zone coverage after the PP came up empty.
The Rangers were on the PP for 3:27 of the final 3:52 of the first and for 6:34 of an 8:00 span into the second, including a pair of five-on-threes for 1:26, during which time they were impossibly inept, hardly able to win the puck, make a pass or press Islander goalie Al Montoya.
But then, winning puck battles becomes a tad difficult when the 5-on-3 includes both Erik Christensen and Mats Zuccarello, on while Marian Gaborik and Bryan McCabe were both serving penalties. For all their impotence, however, it still was 1-0 when the final in the string of power plays concluded at 3:07 of the second.
By the 3:57 mark, however, it was 2-1 as the team’s defensive-zone coverage was as dreadful the preceding PPs in springing leaks in front of Henrik Lundqvist, who yielded four goals in the period.
“They beat us to the puck and were more aggressive in front of our net,” said Lundqvist, who took a seat for the final period.
“I don’t know what happened. We have to think about this [today], and then we have to move on. It’s very disappointing to see how we played in the second period.”
Disappointing isn’t quite the word for it.
“Embarrassing,” is the word used by Brian Boyle.
“I don’t know what the hell happened,” Boyle said. “I don’t.”
“The Rangers have two days to figure it out before going to Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. If they can’t, the choke could end up being on them.