What I'm getting at is that if you have chances, but you don't finish, you don't deserve to win, and the Rangers don't deserve this series. They played good in the first period today, finally scoring when Marty Straka heaved the puck at the net and a few knocks it went in the net. They played great in the second period, and should have scored maybe 7 goals. Then they mailed in the third.
The second period, let's talk about that for a moment. The power play was like a comedy of errors, blowing golden opportunities. Two 5-on-3s? They had shots, mediocre ones, and great rebound chances, but the puck bounced over sticks, hit skates, went everywhere except where was helpful for them. They couldn't get a hold on the puck to put it in the net, and they eventually scored twice to tie it up.
Questionable Coaching #1
Let it be known that I believe Tom Renney is a good coach and is the only person who can coach this crop of Rangers. Now, that said...
The Hollweg Penalty, as it will be known, was unfortunate, but shouldn't have been the end of the season, as it probably will be. First off, why was he on the ice? That was his 5th shift of the night (of 6 total), and I assume he was on because there were no set lines. Betts and Hollweg were the official 4th liners, with Shanahan bouncing around. With Blair hurt, Hollweg was brought there to hit and bring energy.
But the Rangers already had momentum. Everything was going their way. They were dominating on shots and attack-zone time, so why throw him out there when he a) doesn't score and b) is a liability. Dawes and Callahan were out there. Since Drury was in pain, wouldn't Avery, Shanahan, or Gomez be a better fit?
Instead, Renney sent out Hollweg to do a scorer's job, leading to a stupid penalty. Maybe this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back and makes Hollweg realize that he only hurts his team when he hits from behind.
Questionable Coaching #2
As I said, Callahan was out when Hollweg took the penalty. So why, if he was already tired, did he start out killing the penalty? By the time that 4th goal was scored, he was on a 3:08 shift. That's a long time, indeed. And there was no chance to change, as the puck stayed in the Rangers' zone.
But you mean to tell me that in a 3-3 game, your team down 2-0, a 22 year-old player can't dive for a puck to knock it out of the zone, and all he can do is half-heartedly reach for it? Once he made no effort to clear the puck and it stayed in, you knew it was going to be 4-3 within 10 seconds. And it was. All the good that he did with his goal was washed away when he made no effort on that play.
He's 22. His stamina is really so small that he couldn't summon a little more courage to dive for that puck?! If it's Marty Straka, I understand. He's a warrior, but he's older, and his gas tank is smaller than Callahan's should be. A 22 year-old can't play for 3 minutes?
More than Hollweg taking that (awful) penalty, it should have been killed. And it wasn't. People will remember Hollweg's stupidity, and they should, but Callahan not trying should be remembered as well, and it won't be.
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So, now, they go through the motions, play one last game, maybe even win and bring it back to Pittsburgh, but no way will they win 4 straight against Pittsburgh if they can't finish, take bad penalties, can't capitalize on golden opportunities, and give them great chances.
To be fair, only 2 infractions were whistled against the Rangers to give the Penguins a penalty, but one was a double-minor and the Pens went 2-for-3.
And yes, they held Pittsburgh to 17 shots, but they were good shots. This game shouldn't fall on Lundqvist's shoulders. He had no part in this loss. Most of those were good shots that they scored on. Three people crashed the net from 3 different angles on the first shot while Michael Rozsival did nothing. What is Henke to do? Maybe he could have stopped the 5th goal, but it was a good deflection and even if he did, did the Rangers score again? No.
If this series was 2-1 Penguins going into Game 4 at MSG, I'd be more positive and wouldn't care about today. But now it's just a waiting game, and they will just be going through the motions Thursday (by the way, I'll be there).
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Next season's team won't be a different as this year's was from 06-07, because I don't see them making a huge splash on July 1 again (they can't afford it, for one). But certain players will be missing, amongst them Shanahan, Straka, Jagr, Malik, and Rozsival. Just a guess, and I'll explain my thoughts in a post tomorrow.
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