So Tom Renney told The Post’s Larry Brooks yesterday that âpart of our game seems to have vanished.â Well, after tonightâs 5-3 loss to the second-to-last team in the NHL (Tampa Bay), which followed a winless 3-game Western Canada trip, Iâm not avoiding the obvious when I say that what has vanished are the wins.
Yet, somehow losing these close games is making it tough for me to jump all over this team. Every night it seems theyâre really just that close from winning â but donât. And as everyone understands, good teams know how to win, no matter the bad breaks or the tough bounces.
But watching this team is like watching dice roll on a craps table; it just so happens that lately it seems whatever is left of our bankroll is sitting on hard six and sevens are flying like theyâre from the hands of âCâ from âA Bronx Taleâ. The die always bounce strangely, just as the puck did tonight, and for the last four games it seems as if the Rangers need to find a mush like Coffee Cakes to put in the bathroom.
Tonight was no different, as one of the defining moments came in the form of a fluky play in the second period. Scott Gomez was streaking down the left side with his new linemate Chris Drury trying to cut to the middle of the ice. The puck goes off Druryâs skate, gets funneled to Martin St. Louis who finds Vinny Prospal who casually roofs his 19th goal of the season over Lundqvistâs glove. It made the score 4-1 and hushed the Garden crowd.
On the flip side, look at what the Rangers did when they were handed a break. After showing some grit and emotion by cutting the lead to one, there is almost 12 minutes left in the third when Chris Gratton (who almost netted a hat trick) gets called on a trip. It was a good call and big break for the Rangers. Then, very much to the chagrin of John Tortorella, only 37 seconds later they get called for too many men on the ice. One minute and twenty three seconds of 5-on-3 hockey for the Rangers. A window for redemption given to them by one of the worst teams in the NHL. This is what bad teams do â they give their opponents a chance to come back.
And what did the Rangers do? Consistently miss the net in lure of that seemingly never-present perfect deflection. Of course, if one goes in, itâs a different game. So you tell me whoâs the bad team; the one taking advantage of small mistakes or the one that canât convert on huge ones?
This loss was a lot tougher to take than the last three. For the majority of the game they looked â dare I say it? â outclassed. And, for the love of everything holy, they were being outclassed by the freaking worst team in the NHL! The Lightning tried to hand it over and couldnât. Tortorella looked like he was going to have an aneurism on the bench after that too many men on the ice penalty, and the Rangers just blew it.
One quick note: I know Michal Roszival played a tremendous game, and has so far had an outstanding offensive season, but itâs so frustrating to watch him pass up shot after shot. This guy could put up huge offensive numbers if he chose to do so, rather than always defer to Jagr or some other forward whenever he can. Itâs like he shoots only when heâs forced to; like when every possible pass would result in a turnover. He finds his ways to put up points, and really has done a quality job this year, but take a page out of Paul Maraâs book and just shoot it whenever you have a lane. Heâs got an electric shot and we see it so rarely that it seems all his 11 goals (no complaint whatsoever) have been from 15 feet and in. The defense is scoring at a great clip…and now if the forwards can just score at a normal pace maybe we wouldn’t be the dregs of the league in goals scored.
bcyrgalis@nypost.com