Postgame: Rangers Fall Short of Caps Despite Good Effort

Despite a two goal night by star winger Marian Gaborik, the New York Rangers came up short against the Washington Capitals tonight at Madison Square Garden. The Capitals outplayed the Blueshirts in the contest, but the Rangers sure had their chances but were not able to convert. New York has now dropped three of their last five games and continue to slide in the standings.

The Rangers came out with early pressure when Marian Gaborik found the back of the net on a rebound from a Dan Girardi point-shot a minute and sixteen seconds into the game for his fourteenth of the season. For the first time in quite a while, the Blueshirts got off to a good start and were controlling play. However, that would soon change when the Capitals slowly but surely began to control play. As the period progressed, the Rangers momentum seemed to decrease and the Caps had the puck for longer amounts of time. Washington was then put on the powerplay towards the end of the first when Mike Green fed Alex Ovechkin for a one-timer that was lasered past the screened Henrik Lundqvist. Ovechkin picked up right where he left off before suffering from an injury, as he recorded his fifteenth goal in 15 games.

Once again on the powerplay, Brooks Laich poked a loose puck through the legs of Henrik Lundqvist with less that five minutes to go in the second period. This would hold, giving the Caps a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission. The Rangers, presented with a couple of powerplays in the ladder half of the third stanza, tied the game at two late in the final period when Marian Gaborik roofed a Parenteau rebound from a sharp angle over the shoulder of Varlamov. It did not take the Caps long to respond, as Matt Bradley--who left the game in the first when Aaron Voros bloodied his face in a fight--broke in on Lundqvist one on none and put a wrister passed Hank to give Washington the late lead. The Rangers then pulled Lundqvist for the extra attacker but to no avail as New York struggled to get a shot through to Varlamov, let alone find the twine. Brian Pothier put a bow on the game with an empty net tally with the final seconds ticking off the clock.

Obviously a big part of the Rangers troubles tonight was the frequency of penalties taken. A problem that has been addressed by head coach John Tortorella many times lately, but obviously it is something that continues to haunt the team. Now, in addition to taking penalties, the Rangers are struggling to clear the zone and a big part of that is because of size and toughness. Let's be honest here, the blueline for the Blueshirts is quite soft and against a big and powerful team like Washington, they are exposed and out-worked. The worst part of this is that there really is nothing you can do to fix this problem beside bringing in bigger bodies. Staal and Girardi, when you think about it, are the toughest bodies the Rangers have on defense. Beyond that, there is a lack of size and grit.

Marian Gaborik, over 20 minutes of ice time, was spectacular tonight, and one of the things that bothers me the most is when a player lays it all out and carries a team on his shoulders, but receives limited to no support his mates. That was sort of the case with Marian Gaborik in this one, as he netted both Ranger goals, but once again, not much offense aside from the Slovakian star. Granted, Prospal and several others are a big help in Gaborik's efforts, but I think you get the gist of what I am saying here.

I liked the play of Sean Avery and Christopher Higgins because of their great work on the forecheck and their willingness to throw the body around. Both created several chances and had at least one shot on goal. Avery recorded an assist on Gaborik's second tally in the tilt. In fact, Aves played one of his better games of the season.

Wade Redden also played a decent game, as he was quite active on the offense tonight. Yes, he may have been at fault for the Bradley goal, but the blame can equally be put on rookie Matt Gilroy. Redden was tied for the team lead in shots on goal with four--Gabs also had four.

P.A. Parenteau skated well and was rewarded with extra ice time from Torts in the third period. Parenteau was put out there in different situations and he produced with an assist. I also thought Marc Staal played better than he did in Ottawa.

You really cannot blame Henrik Lundqvist for any of the goals other than Laich's. The pads should have been closed on that one and the puck secured, but give credit to Laich for finding it. Hank finished the night making 23 saves on 26 shots.

So the Rangers have a three day break until they hit the ice again on Saturday when they host the struggling Florida Panthers. This is a game they have to take to keep up their confidence. After the 7-1-0 stretch in early October, the Rangers have been victims of a clear losing skid that needs to be broken sooner rather than later, and Saturday's game presents them with a prime opportunity to do so.

(Pictures courtesy of Getty Images and AP Photo)