New York Rangers

A disappointing end to a season that belatedly began with plenty of promise of a possible Stanley Cup. Lots of time to review in the next few days, it appears the Rangers will have their breakup day on Monday, though that’s not 100 percent set in stone yet. Here’s the game story, as reported by Record teammate Tom Gulitti, freeing me to do a column off today’s game. The theme was as I wrote at the end of the Live Blog, the Rangers have to lament the fact that the intensity, desperation and physicality they needed in this series didn’t really show up until this afternoon. I’ll post a link in the next blog post. Or, if you can’t wait, go to http://www.northjersey.com/sports later tonight/tomorrow. Some news from today: the undisclosed injury to D Anton Stralman that he suffered on Milan Lucic’s second-period check in Game 3 was a separated shoulder. Stralman also suffered a facial fracture as he was driven into the glass but it was the shoulder injury that prevented the underrated defenseman from playing in Games 4 and 5, with veteran Roman Hamrlik having to fill in, then being benched after his intercepted pass led to Gregory Campbell’s winner at 13:41 of the second period. Stralman was prepared to play through the injury either in a Game 6 or 7 - how soon he could have returned is unclear - had the Rangers kept the series alive. Below, please find comments from goalie Henrik Lundqvist and coach John Tortorella, plus some player notes. And though the disappointment of this season ending is still very fresh, please accept my humblest thanks for making this blog so enjoyable to write. ====================================================== Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AGrossRecord Follow the Record Sports Staff at twitter.com/TheRecordSports

There will be a lineup change in this game but it’s the Bruins inserting a veteran, not the Rangers. D Dennis Seidenberg, who has missed the first four games of this series with a lower-body injury, will replace rookie Dougie Hamilton, who was burned on Chris Kreider’s OT winner in Game 4, as Zdeno Chara’s partner. For the Rangers, Darroll Powe, out since Game 3 of the first round against the Capitals with a suspected concussion, was on the ice for warmups but did not participate in the line rushes. So coach John Tortorella, with his team facing elimination for the second straight game in this series and for the fourth time so far this postseason, is trusting his players and his Rangers’ lineup from Game 4, including the revamped fourth line of Kris Newbury centering Micheal Haley and Derek Dorsett. “We’ve been fine in the room,” Tortorella said. “We have momentum on our side, we’ll try to keep it.” Tortorella added there was “no update” on D Anton Stralman, who is missing his second straight game but did add that D Ryan McDonagh is going to “play a ton.” Which is not necessarily breaking a lot of news there. He logged 29:43 in Game 4 and was on the ice for 31:59 in Game 1. It’s sort of like saying McDonagh is “going to make a lot of money” in his new contract this summer. Speaking of reliable, Tortorella was asked whether he thought Henrik Lundqvist elevated his game in elimination situations. “I don’t pay attention to Henrik,” Tortorella said. “I know he’s going to be there. He stops the puck. All the time.” “We worked too long and too hard to go out in four straight,” Lundqvist said. “We gave ourselves an opportunity to play one more game. That’s our approach now is just win. We go in that building, we’re playing a good team. I think the last couple of games we’ve had more intensity, at least the second half of (Game 4) was really good and parts of the game before that were really good as well. So focus on the good parts and the stuff we’ve been doing well and feel as good as we can.” Here’s a look at how the Rangers have thrived in elimination games the past two seasons. While Lundqvist and the Rangers are 6-1 over the past two playoffs - five series - it should be noted the Rangers were 1-5 in elimination games from 2006-11, all with Lundqvist in net. And here’s Tom Gulitti’s column on how closing out series has been a tough chore for Bruins goalie Tuukka “I Fell on My” Rask. Before today’s game, Bruins fourth liner Shawn Thornton explained why he and his linemates did not accept challenges from the Rangers’ fourth line to fight in Game 4. Thornton said the Bruins had just scored and added he wasn’t sure if Newbury, who was jawing at him, legitimately wanted to fight or whether Newbury was trying to sucker Thornton into dropping his gloves. Thornton said that when the time was appropriate, his gloves aren’t “sewn on.” At the same time, he said wouldn’t have fought in that situation in any game. Keys to Game 5: 1. Up their game: Yes, the Rangers won Game 4 to avoid a sweep. But they can’t forget they trailed 2-0 in the second period and needed an incredible flub by Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to kickstart their comeback. The Rangers did not start Game 4 with the requisite sense of desperation. A repeat of that won’t work on the Bruins’ home ice. 2. More from the new guys: Tortorella shook up his Game 4 lineup and the same is expected in Game 5: Brad Richards and Arron Asham out, Newbury and Haley anchoring the fourth line, Kreider starting the game with Derek Stepan and Rick Nash and veteran defenseman Roman Hamrlik in for the injured Anton Stralman. The Rangers need balanced production to have a chance. 3. Special teams: While the focus has remained on

Why did we lose tonight? Why did we lose in the playoffs? Why did this season which started with so much promise end on such a down note? It’s really effing simple to explain…. Gaborik & Richards. People want to blame Torts, and to be honest, he does shoulder some of the blame, I just don’t like the way we play the oppositions D in our own zone…but we’ll get to that in a few days after I’ve had a chance to digest everything. The real problem is simple. Your #1 Center and your #1 Left Winger, who combined for 1.7 points per game last year only gave us 1.28 points per game. Over the course of 82 games, we’re talking about a MASSIVE 34 point drop off between the 2. That’s not taking into account that both Gabby and Richards did almost all their damage in a handful of games and were complete no-shows for the rest of time. Oh, yeah, and, for the Rangers elimination game, Gabby was sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere, and Brad Richards was a healthy scratch thanks to his PUTRID play. That’s the single biggest reason we lost. The 2nd? Injuries. I get that all teams have injuries, but we’re without Staal, Sauer, Stralman, Clowe, and Powe for that elimination game tonight. That’s a #1, a #3, and a #4 defenseman, a top 6 forward, and a strong penalty killer (who really would have helped us in this series). The 3rd reason? The Boston Bruins are a fraking good team. Give those guys credit, they are a REALLY, REALLY good team. This isn’t like many of the other losses we’ve had over the years, this was complete and utter domination that even a God-like Henrik Lundqvist couldn’t stop. There have been many series we’ve lost where Henrik sorta ran outta gas from bailing us out…no, Henrik didn’t run out of gas..he was miraculous at times, and STILL we got beat. That team is REAL good…and you know where, they’re still going to get slaughtered by Pittsburgh. Nobody is beating the Pens, they are just too damn good. That’s neither here nor there though. There are a lot of positives for this team, and there are a lot of places we can improve. Lots of big time decisions to be made this offseason, and some of our kids are going to start getting paid. Will be interesting to see it all unfold. I’ll post a more thorough breakdown of this year in the next few days…maybe after breakup day when we find out who was injured with what. Later!

I want you all to know that this website takes up at least 30% of my life. Probably more. I'm on here every day, for multiple hours, either writing stories, bantering with you in the comments or trying to make this place better for all of you guys. And it's not just me, it's the fantastic staff we have on the site, too. I want you all to know how enjoyable YOU make this experience. I say it all the time, but I need you guys to know how much I mean it: This site would be NOTHING without all of you. You're our engine that keeps us running. I have a desire to do this and I love to do this because of you guys. Getting your e-mails (when they're not threats), fighting in the comments, laughing in game threads, interacting on Twitter and even meeting on the street or in the Garden makes this worth doing. I'm so appreciative and so humbled by all of your support and loyalty I honestly can't put it into words aside from thanking you guys a million times. Mike and I are in the process of putting together a story to get your input on how to make this site better, but that might take a few weeks. We're also planning a meetup sometime this summer so we can all meet face-to-face and stop being creepy internet friends. You know, the people you know without ever meeting. Anyway, from the bottom of my heart, thanks for making this place what it is. Thanks for the support. Thanks for the kind words. We're nothing without you guys. Thanks from me and the staff!

To paraphrase Winston Churchill – never have so many owed so much to one goaltender. If I were Henrik Lundqvist, I would sue my New York Rangers teammates for lack of support. It was pretty disappointing for this Rangers fan to watch The King try to will his team to victory only to watch the rest of the team fall short of the urgency and desperation they showed in Game 4. Leave it to Lundqvist to sum up the feelings of the Rangers faithful. “I expected more for us and I hoped for more,” The Rangers goalie explained to BlueshirtsUnited.com. “It’s an empty feeling. The hardest thing is realizing that it’s over.” While Lundqvist showed up to play all 14 playoff games, sadly the Rangers offense did not. The Blueshirts played nine one-goal games if you factor in empty net goals turned three games into two-goal decisions (ironically enough, all three were 3-1 losses). Of those one-goal decisions, the Rangers were 4-5. Even more telling was the fact the Rangers were either shutout or scored just one goal in 6 of their 14 games, posting a 1-5 record, Far too many times the Rangers were spending more time in the offensive zone looking to make the extra pass rather than put shots on goal, get traffic in front and hunt down rebounds and deflections. “The last two games, we gave ourselves a chance to win,” Lundqvist said to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. “But it took us a couple of games to get there. “I expected more from us,” he said. “Last year, a lot of things went our way. This was a different season. We have to learn from this.” While the Rangers lost the series in five games, the two teams were not separated by much – even though Boston was the better and deeper team. Outside of the Rangers Game 2 loss, the other three defeats were games where the outcome could easily have swung the Blueshirts way. Rosen offered the following take from Bruins center Gregory Campbell. “They played hard. They’re built similar to us,” Campbell told NBC Sports Network. “They rely on everybody, and they really play a man’s game. It was a physical series; most of the games could have gone either way.” For his part, Rangers coach John Tortorella fell on the sword for his team and took the blame in his post-game press conference. “One of the big things in this series, and it falls on me it’s a big part of my job, is that I couldn’t get my top players to play consistently,” Tortorella lamented. “I need to take some responsibility to try and get them into spots to help us here. I thought that hurt us a bit.” I am not sure what Torts could have done differently to get the likes of Rick Nash and Brad Richards to score more than one goal apiece or The bugaboos that plagued the Rangers throughout the playoffs were in full force in Game 5. While the Rangers power play struck for a second straight game, they never were able to turn a one goal lead into a two-goal lead. Unfortunately, the Rangers did not heed the lesson of that power goal which saw Dan Girardi’s shot from the point beat Tuukka Rask thanks to Brian Boyle’s screen. The Rangers, once again, failed to get enough traffic in front of a goalie. The Rangers style of play in their defensive end cost them yet again as the Bruins forecheck pinned the Rangers deep in their own zone for stretches at a time. They expended so much energy getting out of their own zone that they were unable to launch any counterattack against the Bruins and the Rangers own forecheck was found wanting. The Blueshirts are going to have to consider redesigning their defensive zone coverage next season. They need to stop constantly dropping sown low to clog up the shooting lanes because that style leaves the point men WIDE open. It is a big reason why the Bruins defensemen scored seven of Boston’s 16 goals in the series – including Torey Krug’s record-setting coming out performance. The Elias Sports Bureau confirmed Krug is the first rookie blueliner t

Courtesy of the Boston Bruins: NEW YORK RANGERS FORWARD CARL HAGELIN On his team’s performance… This was definitely our best game. It was just tough that the push came too late. We should have been playing like this our first couple of games, which we didn’t. It’s tough to get out of a hole when you’re down 3-0, even though we showed a lot of character. It’s a great group of guys in here, and we almost came back. Again, I think we’re all disappointed we didn’t play this way to start out the series. On why the team played better later in the series and not the start… That’s a good question. I don’t think we were tired from the first series. I mean they played seven; we played seven. I think it’s just a matter of maybe we just didn’t have the aggressiveness we needed to play in their zone. Maybe we gave them a little too much respect. It hurt us. On what problems the Bruins caused for them… They did a good job of breaking out of their own end. I think that was key for them so their D [defense] could join, because we did not sustain enough pressure. We didn’t make their D [defense] work, and that’s why it was easy for them to join the rush. On his team turning over the puck a lot… Yeah. Maybe, maybe not. I don’t think that was our biggest issue. I think it was more our dumps, and we made it easy for them to break it out. On what the feeling is like when you work so hard and it comes to an end… It’s just disappointment and emptiness. You want to keep playing, there’s no doubt about it. But the push came too late. On the biggest difference in this series… Just the way we didn’t’ create enough offense. We got a lot of good scoring chances, just more the fact that we didn’t sustain. NEW YORK RANGERS FORWARD RICK NASH On his feelings after the series… It’s heartbreaking. We have a good team, good season, and we just couldn’t get the job done. On if he was dealing with an injury during the series… No. NEW YORK RANGERS FORWARD DERICK BRASSARD On the momentum of the game… Well, I think when they scored their second goal they got a lot of momentum, I think they really pushed hard after that. I think the more the game goes the level of energy is going to go a bit down because you always try to push and try to get a forecheck. I think after the second goal, you know, they play really tight and they make a big push and we couldn’t find a way. On whether it was more what the Bruins did or what the Rangers didn’t do… Yeah I think they have some good structure, and they have good defensemen. And what I noticed was that every time we tried to get a battle in front of their net, they’re pretty big and they compete hard. I think the Game 1 and Game 2 – we didn’t give those games to those guys, I think they did play well and play a little bit better. I think that’s where the series got going. But all credit to them. You know they found a way. The last playoff series that they played against Toronto they came back to go into the seventh game, and tonight they found a way to close the deal. On what he learned from this playoff experience… Yeah well you know, it was my first playoff experience. And we found a way to win the first playoff matches, and I think just learning how hard it is and all the little details. I’m just looking forward to this summer to work hard, and now I know what to expect. And going into next season I think I am confident I want to be part of this team, and I think we have a good group here and we can do something special. It’s been a lot of fun. NEW YORK RANGERS FORWARD BRIAN BOYLE  On wondering how things could have played out if the effort was there earlier in the series… You wonder a lot of things, you review the whole year. You wonder how many more you got

Sorry for the jackwagon sniffling in my microphone during the Tortorella presser. The post Game 5: Bruins 3, Rangers 1 … post-game interviews: Tortorella, Lundqvist, Girardi, McDonagh, Callahan appeared first on Rangers Report Blog.

Courtesy of the NYR: RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Game 5: TD Garden Bruins 3, Rangers 1. BOS wins 4-1 Team Notes: -      The Rangers were defeated by the Boston Bruins, 3-1, today at TD Garden, in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Blueshirts are eliminated from the playoffs after losing the series, 4-1. -      New York has posted a record of 213-233-8 overall in postseason action, including a 93-144-6 mark on the road. -      The Rangers tallied one goal in two power play opportunities (2:54), and were 2-6 (33.3%) with the man advantage in the last two games. -      The Blueshirts won 29-57 faceoffs (51%) in the contest, led by Brian Boyle (11-18, 61%) and Derek Stepan (11-19, 58%). Player Notes: -      Dan Girardi notched a power play goal, was credited with two hits and logged 25:59 of ice time. He recorded a point in each of the last two road games (one goal, one assist over the span). Girardi finished the postseason ranked first among Rangers’ defensemen with two goals, and tied for first in scoring with four points. -      Mats Zuccarello tallied a power play assist and was credited with two blocked shots in 14:57 of ice time. He recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four road games. Zuccarello finished the postseason ranked second on the team with six assists and seven points. -      Brian Boyle registered a power play assist, was credited with four hits, and won 11-18 faceoffs (61%) in 20:07 of ice time. He tallied a point in each of the last two games (one goal, one assist over the span), and finished the playoffs tied for fourth on the team in scoring with five points (three goals, two assists). -      Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 of 31 shots faced, and is now 30-37 in 67 career playoff contests. He finished the postseason with a 2.14 GAA, ranked fourth in the NHL with a .934 save percentage, and second in the league with two shutouts. -      Chris Kreider tied for the game-high with six hits and logged 16:52 of ice time. -      Ryan Callahan registered a game-high, six shots on goal, and was credited with four hits in 22:55 of ice time. -      Derick Brassard recorded three shots and two hits in 20:33 of ice time, and finished the playoffs leading the team with 10 assists and 12 points. He currently ranks fourth in the league in assists (10) and tied for fifth in points (12). -      Derek Stepan won 11-19 faceoffs (58%) in 17:54 of ice time, and finished the postseason ranked first on the team with four goals. The post Game 5: Bruins 3, Rangers 1 … post-game notes appeared first on Rangers Report Blog.

The New York Rangers season came to an abrupt end as the Boston Bruins defeated them 3-1 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Rangers grabbed the early lead in this game, but slowly let it slip away due to undisciplined penalties, and uninspired play. Henrik Lundqvist played like an absolute beast between the pipes, but he can only do so much for his team. As it has been for most of the season, the Rangers had a slow start from the opening faceoff, and were sitting back on their heels for the first few minutes. However, the Rangers were able to get their legs back under them as Rick Nash, Chris Kreider, and Derick Brassard responded with some threatening chances. Things got a little ugly just six minutes into the game, as the Rangers fourth line started to cause some havoc. Shawn Thornton took exception to the Rangers taking liberties, and traded some punches with Derek Dorsett. Dorsett's fight lit a fire under the Rangers as they started to go to work, and eventually sucked David Krejci into taking a cross-checking penalty after the whistle. The Rangers would eventually get their first power play of the game, and had a golden opportunity to take early control of this game. They did just that as Dan Girardi unloaded a rocket from the point, and it snuck under Tuuka Rask's arm, and just like that it was 1-0 Rangers. This goal is a direct result of Brian Boyle giving Rask absolutely no room to think. A majority of the time, a goalie can only stop the pucks that he sees. The Bruins started to amp up their pressure late in the second period, but luckily enough, the Rangers were able to escape the first period with the 1-0 lead. That lead did last very long into the second period, as Mats Zuccarello took an early hooking penalty, and the Bruins had their opportunity to jump back into the game. Torey Krug, who haunted the Rangers all series long, was the recipient of the eventual power play goal. He was set up for a blistering slap shot on the right faceoff dot, and he ripped it through Henrik Lundqvist's arm. With the ice tilting almost fully in the Bruins favor, the Rangers began their downfall. They weren't able to generate the chances that they would liked, and the Bruins started to eat away at the Rangers slowly. Three minutes past the halfway mark of the second period, Gregory Campbell gave the Bruins their first lead of the game, and wound up being the game winning goal. Roman Hamrlik, who likely played the last shift of his long NHL career after the goal, made a terrible mistake to pass the puck right into three Bruin players. After a second swat at the puck, Hamrlik wasn't able to get the puck up the ice, and it was all down hill from that point. Shawn Thornton eventually gained possession of the puck, and drove it to the net. With much chaos in front of Lundqvist, Campbell came in and chipped the loose puck into the top corner of the net. The Rangers would eventually head into the third period down 2-1 with their entire season relying on their third period of play. Although, the only threatening chance the Rangers were able to generate was a late period breakaway from Ryan Callahan. It was a great play by Hagelin in the neutral zone, and he found Callahan breaking out early, and got in behind the Bruins' defenders. With penalty of time to think, Tuuka Rask stood his ground, and shut down Callahan's backhand attempt, and kept the Bruins on top 2-1. With the final minutes clicking off of the clock, and the Rangers starting to run on empty, the Bruins popped in the empty net goal to seal the deal. Gregory Campbell came up with his second goal of the game, and sent the Boston Bruins to the Eastern Conference Finals. With that, the Rangers season came to a quick end, and it's going to be another long off-season. Keep checking back all throughout the off-season, as there will be a ton to talk about regarding upcoming RFA's, UFA's and much more. Is it October yet?

Well, it was fun while it lasted. The Bruins –the better team throughout the series– sent the Rangers home today with a 3-1 win in Game Five. Torey Krug was an absolute killer in this series, and he scored the game tying goal in this game. That’s the season, so here’s the final goal breakdown of the year: Rangers 1, Bruins 0 Lots of things done right on this shift. The Rangers scored on the powerplay for the second game in a row. Ok, now that this has sunk in, the Rangers didn’t really have a strong powerplay shift until this goal. Michael Del Zotto started by fighting off a forechecker and making a one-handed pass to Chris Kreider in the defensive zone. Kreider skated through and dumped the puck in, and more importantly, took a hit on the chase to move the puck to the weak side. Dan Girardi eventually wound up with the puck, and drew Danny Paille to him while flipping a backhanded pass to Mats Zuccarello between the top of the circle and the blue line. At this point, Gregory Campbell cheats down a bit, and Girardi reads this and gets in a position to shoot at the point. His one-timer went through everyone, including a Brian Boyle screen in front, and to the back of the net. Bruins 1, Rangers 1 Eminger out of position, Cally has to cover. Weak side is open. The Rangers special teams giveth, the Rangers special teams taketh. The Blueshirts have had trouble all series killing penalties, specifically whenever Torey Krug shoots. This time was no different. During a routine zone entry and setup, Krug came in late and circled from the blue line to the top of the weak side circle. Steve Eminger is a bit out of position, as he should have Tyler Seguin in front, but he’s over by the boards. This causes Ryan Callahan to cover the slot instead of watching the pass to the weak side. Krug slipped into the open ice, and Cally couldn’t get over in time to deflect the pass or block the shot. With the way Krug has been playing, the goal was a certainty. Bruins 2, Rangers 1 Five Bruins in the picture, three around the pass. Bad idea. This is why Roman Hamrlik never really played as a Ranger. His ill-advised pass (pictured above) gave the Bruins puck possession in the neutral zone. Then his again ill-advised half-attempt to get the loose puck at the blue line caused a rough transition and eventually led to Gregory Campbell going untouched to pick up a rebound in the scrum in front. Bruins 3, Rangers 1 Empty net. That’s all folks. All things considered, the season wasn’t a total loss. Time to regroup and come back strong next year. Tweet