New York Rangers Stink Up Canada

Getting off to a good start was a priority for the New York Rangers in their match up against the Ottawa Senators today.

How’s this for a rousing beginning to a game? They were killing penalties for the first six out of eight minutes, and didn’t get a shot off until roughly 13 minutes into the first period. Chris Drury and Michal Rozsival let Dany Heatley skate right between, to set up a Jason Spezza goal to fall behind 1-0.

They were flatfooted, lifeless, had no aggression, no energy, and just had nothing to work with. They just flat out stunk, and deservedly lost, 4-1.

Coming off a disastrous game against Vancouver, you’d think the Rangers would show a little more effort and heart. But you’d be wrong. With the exception of their goaltending and penalty killing, they’re not particularly good at anything. Thus, if they don’t out-work the other team, they’re going to lose. They didn’t even come close to out-working the Senators.

Were they mesmerized by Ottawa’s new alternate jersey? That’s the only excuse I can think of unfortunately. They turned the low-scoring Senators into the 1980s Oilers.

Stephen Valiquette did his best Henrik Lundqvist impression by attempting to keep the helpless Blueshirts in the game, but by the end of the second period, things fell apart. The black cloud that floats over Rozsival’s head was with him again this afternoon. Before helping the Senators score their first goal, he committed a hooking penalty on his first shift of the game.

It was a nice start. As soon as the Rangers go on the power play, there are no scarier words for Rangers' fans than, “And Rozsival and Kalinin step onto the ice.”

With no seventh defenseman on the roster, there aren’t any consequences for the D-men. They’re going to play every shift of every game, so Tom Renney has no choice but throw Rozsival and Kalinin out on the power play. Even Dan Girardi had a bad game, letting Charles Emerson Winchester III skate right by him in the offensive zone and cruise in to score a goal. He also had another turnover that almost led to another goal.

Jarkko Ruutu was up to his old tricks once again. Paul Mara forgot about the game in the first period, and just decided to tackle him. This led to a penalty, then a goal for the Senators. Colton Orr got a few punches in near the end of the game, leading to 14 minutes in penalties.

When Ruutu was penalized for a late hit, he was thrown down by one of the linesman. You can tell, even they don’t like him. While it would be great to see the Ottawa agitator get his face punched in, Mara could have picked a better spot to rough him up than he did.

Once New York was down 3-0 in the third period, they showed signs of life. However, it was a little too late. Markus Naslund got them on the board with a goal, but when Ottawa netted in their fourth goal, it was all over for these rangers. They must really miss Scott Gomez with his tremendous speed and stickhandling skills. Hopefully he’ll be back sometime next week, but with the way they’re playing, they’re going to need more than that.

They can’t score, their powerplay is powerless, and their turnovers are the gifts that keep on giving for their opponents.

This was Wade Redden’s big homecoming, and like Naslund facing his old team on Wednesday, it was the former Senator’s turn to be embarrassed by his new team.

Next game: Monday against Wayne Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes. Hopefully the Rangers will show up for that one. Who knows, maybe someone will remind them that the game starts at 7 PM,  and not 9.