Rangers Lose Another Heart-Breaker

Another heart-breaking loss for the Rangers last night.

Perhaps the only changes seen in last night’s loss compared to Wednesday’s loss in Toronto, was the fact that the Rangers played in the Garden, against the Panthers. Everything else seemed to followed suit.

The Rangers out-played their inferior opponent, the Rangers out-shot their inferior opponent, the Rangers scored first against their inferior opponent, and of course, the Rangers ultimately lost to their inferior opponent.

Same old story last night against Florida.

I was watching the game with Dan and we both agreed the Rangers looked great from the get go. Right from the drop of the puck the team was playing with intensity, and passion.

An early goal that was overruled (erroneously, might I add), followed by another early goal that actually was allowed gave the fans hope of an exciting night to come.

Just like Wednesday, the Rangers were aggressive on the fore check, sent a barrage of shots toward the Panther’s net, and completely dominated and controlled the game through two periods.

Then came the dreaded third.

Late in the period, David Booth and Nathan Horton scored back to back goals to take the lead, and the Panthers held on to beat New York 2-1.

Other then missed scoring opportunities, which Rangers fans have now become accustom to seeing, the team was in it until Henrik Lundqvist had a hiccup in net.

Michael Obenauer of the NYDN says of Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s performance:

Lundqvist - who once again had to be flawless to get a win - said he misread Booth's backhander from the right faceoff dot, expecting a high shot and being beaten for a soft goal through the legs. "It was a weak goal, no question," Lundqvist said.

So while there are definitely positive signs being shown by John Tortorella’s team, the growing pains of playing in his new system will take some time to overcome.

Although it will be difficult, fans who were expecting to see a dramatic “turnaround” will need to be patient.

For now, I still have faith that the Rangers will dig themselves out of this hole eventually, and find their way back into significance.