New York Rangers: New Team, Same Old Problems

After watching the opening nights of the NHL regular season from Prague, Rangers fans have to wonder—are we better?

There is no doubt who the dominant team was. 

New York outshot Tampa Bay 41-21 in Game One, and won by a final score of 2-1.

The Rangers carried the play once again in the second game, peppering Lightning netminder Olaf Kolzig with 40 shots—while Tampa Bay could only muster 19 shots on Henrik Lundqvist—and ended up with yet another 2-1 win.

So, should we be happy?

There were definitely some very good things to take away from this successful trip to start the season—not to mention four points.

The Rangers offseason acquisitions looked very good—specifically Wade Redden and Markus Naslund, who each had a goal and an assist in the two-game premiere.

Scott Gomez was outstanding and looks primed to have another stellar season, while Chris Drury, Marc Staal, Nigel Dawes, Brandon Dubinsky and Lundqvist look like they are in midseason form already.

However, with the good comes the bad.

The fact that the Rangers had 81 shots on goal and only managed four goals over the two games may just be a sneak peak at what we are going to see from the blueshirts this season.

Last season, the Rangers were one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league, despite a lineup that included Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, and Brendan Shanahan.

There is no doubt that this team is well-coached—but maybe they are just a little too well-coached.

Tom Renney's boys looked like they were more afraid to make a mistake than create an offensive chance.

With the team mentally thinking about defense, it may be hard to create offensive opportunities. This may hinder them in the long run when they face the elite in the Eastern Conference.

If the Rangers hope to improve upon a second-round exit from the playoffs, they are going to have to score a few more goals.

If the first two games are indeed any indication, they haven't learned just yet.