Wednesday the Rangers blew an early 2-0 lead and dropped Game 4 to the Senators 3-2 in overtime. The Rangers got Ottawa to take two early penalties and cashed on both opportunities. It would seem that a 2-0 lead would give the Rangers momentum, but in fact it was Ottawa that gained the momentum and played like a desperate team the rest of the way. The Rangers on the other hand went into retreat mode and tried to cling onto the two goal lead, hoping Lundqvist could repeat his Game 3 performance. The Rangers could not hold on and gave up two goals in the second to tie the game. The Rangers spent much of the second period in their own end trying to hold off the persistent Ottawa attack. The Rangers let Ottawa control the puck in their zone, and tried to get in the shooting lanes. This kind of hockey can only take a team so far in a game. The Rangers need to be more aggressive in their own zone, and stop letting the Senators defense pinch so deep and keep the puck in. The Rangers need to see the defense pinching and one pass will lead to an odd man rush.
Aside from the Rangers blowing their lead and playing defense most of the night, there didn't seem to be any sense of urgency from the Rangers. It looked like they were playing a regular season game where they had nothing to play for at some points. They were beaten to almost all the loose pucks by Ottawa, and when the Rangers needed to win a face-off, they couldn't. There is a lot of room for improvement for the Rangers between now and Saturday night, starting with their level of intensity. Hopefully the Garden faithful can get them off to a fast start and a strong finish. It's just like Giant's Head Coach Tom Coughlin said all year "You have to finish."
No comments:
Post a Comment