New York Rangers Have Case of the Blueshirt Blues

John Tortorella doesn't quite know what to say to his players to inspire them. He said in a postgame press conference, "You can’t play game 77, I think this is, you can’t play it like it’s game 25 for 40 minutes [...] They were the more desperate team that we were. It’s not so much losing, it’s how we played.”

In sports, there are moments that are strange, out of the ordinary and just unexplainable. Al Pacino best summed it up in the film Any Given Sunday when he said, “On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is—can you win or lose like a man?” Rocky had his first title fight against Clubber Lang and everyone knows how that turned out. Rocky was cocky, arrogant and, as Apollo put it, “lost the eye of the tiger."

The Rangers seemed to have lost that eye of the tiger. It seemed that when the Rangers were injured earlier this season, they played with a chip on their shoulders and wanted to perform. It was even seen on the fan base via twitter. When Brandon Dubinsky went down with a hip injury, the fans took to twitter with the hashtag #doitfordubinksy attached to their game-related tweets. As of the last few games, they just seem like they don’t want it.

Rightly so, the Rangers had their phoenix moment against the Islanders. To say it mildly, they crashed and burned into smithereens. It was a badly played game, and no words can eloquently describe what happened on Long Island.

One can only hope this is the Rangers proverbially “epiphany” moment. The fans hope they can rise from the ashes, mount a solid effort and see the light that will lead them to the promise land of ticker tape in June.

After two lackluster efforts, there are many questions on the minds of the fans when it comes to a potential playoff run. The biggest question is the Rangers' power play. An outsider with a basic knowledge of the game called hockey would only assume that a team that spent 17 of the first 26 minutes of the game on the power play would be successful. Right now, however, the best way to describe the Rangers' power play is to compare it to a rookie bartender. 

There are so many potent and powerful concoctions at the bartender’s disposable that when mixed can either turn out  to become an amazing night out or a lengthy painful  hangover. The Rangers, like most of the teams in the NHL, opt to use the four forward, one d-man combination.

The Rangers designated Bryan McCabe as point man. Since his acquisition from the Panthers, he only seems to be noticed by fans on the ice when the Rangers have a man advantage. 

The Rangers' power play could be successful if they enacted the following strategy. While he may have some minor holes in his overall game, Michael Del Zotto is a great puck-moving defensemen who can shoot from the point.

A combination of Del Zotto and McCabe on the Rangers point would give them two outlets to rotate for a one-timer and would eliminate the opponents from keying in on one guy. This would also be beneficial because the Rangers forwards could play more aggressively, knowing they have two d-men to fall back on.

When looking up and down the Rangers bench, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan and Derek Stepan stand out. All three players can shoot, skate and become catalysts for offense. There is no denial that Gaborik is a force to be reckoned with when he is playing at his full potential. Stepan has had an amazing rookie season and will continue to flourish as a player. In Chris Drury's absence, Callahan has become the de-facto captain of the blue shirts on and off the ice.

Callahan is going to have to rally up his troops to make the final push. Callahan can cement himself as the leader of this team in the next couple games leading up to the playoffs. He needs to inspire his players in a similar fashion to when Mark Messier famously guaranteed a win in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. Ryan Callahan has what it takes—he just needs to show the fans and the media that he has it. 

After watching hours of tape of the Rangers' power play, a few things stand out. The first of these is that the Rangers are too fancy with the puck. They like to pass the puck back and forth, up, down and around before taking a shot. The Rangers' Achilles' heel this year has been deflections. So many goals have gone off their own players’ skates, arms and even the occasional backside deflection.

If the Rangers were to take more shots from the point by enacting the two-defensemen point strategy, they could have more chances to deflect the puck and tuck in wayward rebounds from the side of the net. Once the puck is below the hash marks, Stepan is more than capable of fighting behind the net and throwing it back out to the point. 

Short and simply put, if the Rangers can not capitalize on the power play, regardless of whether or not they make the playoffs, they will not win games. At this point of the year, teams are way too good at even strength.

Goaltending is an issue, but the issue is not the reliability but the stamina of Henrik Lundqvist. Until being pulled against the Islanders, Henrik has played in 64 consecutive periods. It was estimated that if the Rangers were to win the Stanley Cup, Henrik would have played in about 50 consecutive games. That is another season within itself.

The Rangers need to test the waters and have Chad Johnson play a complete game. John Tortorella needs to know that—in the worst case of scenarios—he could rely on Johnson for a spot start.

If the Rangers can get their power play working effectively and can regroup and gain some points, they can squeeze into the playoffs. The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are an exciting time of the year. In a seven-game series, anything can happen. As we saw last year, the eighth seed Philadelphia Flyers just squeaked by the Rangers on the final day of the season and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

That being said, the Rangers' concern right now is just getting there. Esteemed writer Malcolm Gladwell once said, "The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire," and right now the Rangers just need the match to light that fire.

Comments, questions, concerns, gripes?

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