This afternoon’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers is far from a must-win for the Rangers. But today’s result could have a great effect on the team’s mindset entering the NHL All-Star break, which, in turn, could change how the Blueshirts approach the final months of the season.
Consider the team’s last week of hockey: An impressive final two periods to close out a 3-1 victory over the Bruins last Saturday, and a hard-fought, disciplined, 60 minutes of play in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to the Devils.
A win today would allow the Rangers to go into the break with victories in two of their previous three games, and give them the ability to focus on the positives from Tuesday’s loss:
* They generated 26 shots and a number of high-quality scoring chances despite not having a single power play in a game for the first time since March 30, 2004.
* Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding in goal, stopping 31 shots, including three saves during a Devils power play midway through the second period that kept his team in the game.
* The Rangers rarely strayed from the disciplined style of hockey they wanted to play, outshooting the Devils 31-27 and taking four penalties. It was the fourth straight game in which they allowed their opponent fewer than five power-play opportunities.
Of course, with a loss today, Tuesday’s game would look like just another disappointment, and the team would enter the break having lost 11 of its past 16 games, firmly entrenched in the seven-team war for the final two Eastern Conference playoff spots.
“Teams have closed the gap, and we’ve dropped a notch, and that’s going to continue to happen until we start winning on a regular basis, and there’s no better time to start that than [today],” Tom Renney said after yesterday’s practice.
The lineup du jour likely will feature the return of Jason Ward, a healthy scratch since Jan. 11. Colton Orr and Adam Hall are the most likely candidates to sit out, though Renney refused to make final lineup decisions before game time. A potential fourth unit could feature Ward on a line with Petr Prucha, centered by Ryan Hollweg.
Defenseman Michal Rozsival, who missed yesterday’s practice with a sore upper hamstring, should be able to play today, likely putting Darius Kasparaitis out of the lineup, as well.
But for all the lineup shakeups, today’s game boils down to one thing in Renney’s mind.
“I just want to play a complete game and get our heads on how that really and truly feels. We’ll let the results take care of themselves, but let’s just be a real good, legitimate team,” he said.
“If we do that over the balance of our hockey games, I think we’ll be fine. If we’re up and down, then it’s anybody’s guess where this ends up.”