Leafs-Rangers: A Loss Well Deserved

Tonight's debacle was a well-deserved loss for the New York Rangers.

A reality check you might say.

After taking a 2-0 lead into the third period, the Rangers started to get lazy. They lacked good defense and didn't bother skating hard for pucks up against the boards and in the corners.

After Toronto scored their first goal of the evening, Michal Rozsival made yet another incoherent, close eyed pass. It was intercepted by Toronto, who then scored a quick goal to tie the game up at 2-2.

Fine, we are used to Rozsival making these kinds of passes, actually (way too often), he makes more than one a game. But the momentum went strictly in favor of Toronto at this point, and they scored five unanswered goals to win the game by a final score of 5-2.

Also, I was being yelled at in the Ranger Nation chat room by Rozi fans during the game, for expressing my concers of having him on this team. First off, he doesn't deserve or warrant a $5 million a year deal. And secondly, I think he is a huge liability on the ice. That's probably why Marc Staal was ripped from his wing and put under Paul Mara's, which he is prospering under.

Just think, Rozi's $20 million four year deal could actually help the Rangers lose Nikolai Zherdev, Marc Staal or Brandon Dubinsky this coming off-season. Is it worth it?

Granted, Rozsival isn't a TERRIBLE defensemen but he also isn't a good one either. I honestly believe Corey Potter could come up and take his spot and no one would even miss the guy. And at the cost of a lot less money also.

My answer: Move Rozisval.

I also blame this loss on poor coaching decisions by Tom Renney

After the second and/or third goals, why wasn't the checking line sent out onto the ice to try and take the momentum away from Toronto?

A fight by Colton Orr, or the defensive skills of Blair Betts and Fredrik Sjostrom along with the amazing defensive line of Marc Staal and Paul Mara, I believe, could have easily helped the Rangers gain back some of that edge.

Terrible loss, but a well deserved one.

*Hopefully my writing made sense tonight. I am still recovering from an emergency operation to remove my appendix and boy those painkillers are making me loopy!