EDMONTON, Alberta — All the laughter has died in sorrow as far as appraising the Rangers’ power play, which has earned no praise whatsoever down the stretch.
Indeed, what was a strength through most of the season had turned into a glaring weakness by the time the Blueshirts met the Oilers Sunday night, seeking a reversal of fortune against this non-playoff team following Friday’s 4-3 defeat in Calgary to the Flames’ non-playoff team.
“We had three emotional, division games in loud buildings last week against Columbus, Jersey and Philadelphia,” Rick Nash said, “and it was a little bit of a different atmosphere in Calgary, but we have to play with the same intensity and desperation every night. We have to be ready to play our best game no matter who we’re playing.
“These teams that are out of the playoffs are dangerous. We’re playing against guys who are playing for jobs, pride and contracts. They’re all tough. That has to be our mind-set.”
It becomes even tougher for the Rangers if they continue to fail on the power play. The Blueshirts have managed to minimize the damage thus far in going 7-4 over the previous 11-game game stretch — in which the power play was a bottom-of-the-barrel 2-for-31 — but that isn’t likely to continue for long, if not forever.
“It’s so difficult to score enough only at even-strength,” Brian Boyle said. “Goaltending is too good and so is the way teams play defense, especially at this time of the year.”
The Rangers dedicated the final 20 minutes of Saturday’s practice in Calgary to power-play work. The club went through a few entry drills, then spent the remainder of the time on setups in the offensive zone. Both areas have been problems over the fortnight for the Rangers, who have been indecisive and disorganized on the man advantage.
The Blueshirts had only one power-play opportunity against the Flames (the third straight game with two or fewer), and failed to produce a shot on the man-advantage that came midway through the third period when down a goal.
“We’ve been a little bit anxious on our breakouts and entries. They need to be sharper,” said Brad Richards, who handles the puck more than any other player on the power-play unit. “You get one bad possession, one bad entry and a clear, and the power play is down to 45 seconds.”
The power play started to slide when the coaching staff curiously removed Chris Kreider, a front-of-the-net presence and puck retriever, from the specialty unit in order to create a spot for Marty St. Louis. Kreider is done for at least the remainder of the regular season. In his absence, Nash has moved to the front while St. Louis has operated off the right wall.
The second power-play unit of Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot — on which the latter sets the screens — has had issues gaining the zone and moving the puck.
“We need to settle down,” Richards said. “We need to get our focus back and work together as a unit, not as much as individuals. We’re all on the same page as far as our approach and our intentions, but we haven’t been on the same page on the ice.
“We’ve been trying to do too much on our own. We need to get back to basics and pound the puck.”
Richards and Ryan McDonagh, two lefties, play the point on one unit. Raphael Diaz has joined Dan Girardi to give the Rangers a pair of righties on the blue line for the other unit. Diaz, who replaced John Moore in the lineup and on the power play when the latter suffered a concussion in Columbus March 21, has moved the puck well but had not been on the ice for a power-play goal in his first four games, getting 7:20 of man-up ice.