The New York Rangers are only 5-3-2 in their last ten games, and two of those five losses have been in key games against division rivals. They were looking as if they were getting back on track following the trade deadline with three straight victories, but they've fallen right back into a hole after going down, 4-1, to the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on Tuesday. In other words, the Blueshirts are very unhappy with their performances as of late and tonight will be looking to gain control of their play against the hot Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place. Enough is enough already - it's time to buckle down and start to push towards clinching a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Clinching a playoff spot, though, may not be the biggest concern for the team right now. Instead, it's their lack of focus and energy that has led to some real bummer results as of late and it's somewhat put their first place spot in the East at stake. The Pittsburgh Penguins have won seven straight games and the Flyers have been heating up as well, so there's some pressure coming from beneath the Rangers within the division. To fall out of first to one of those clubs would be devastating.
That's what makes this upcoming back-to-back against the Senators so critical for the Rangers. Two solid hockey teams currently in the playoff picture should bring out the best in the Rangers, or at least attempt to. The way John Tortorella's squad responds will be the real test now that they've fallen off track here. If they can get four points out of these next two, the confidence level will be right back to where it was last week in the midst of the winning streak.
Meanwhile, the Senators currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 35-25-8 and 78 points. They've won seven of their last ten games and are coming off a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the week. Even without goaltender Craig Anderson, they've still managed to win games and remain as one of the hotter teams in the conference.
The Sens will present the Rangers with a tremendous challenge if New York comes out playing as they have in recent games. This nonchalant attitude combined with shoddy defense will not bid well for the Rangers against this hockey club, so it's either "kill or get killed" for the team tonight.
The effort we saw against the Devils was simply unacceptable. With first place comes a reputation, but the Rangers have struggled to maintain that reputation. They look like a team that is approaching the drop of the other proverbial shoe. We've been waiting for it to drop all year, I would say, but it hasn't. If this continues, however, the other shoe won't be the only thing taking a massive fall.
As for the lineup, Brandon Dubinsky will not suit up tonight. He has both a hand injury and sinus problems, so he is not in shape to be in the lineup for this one. Back-up goaltender Marty Biron will get the start tonight with Henrik Lundqvist playing tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The rest of the lineup, per coach John Tortorella, is not set so I'll have that for you as soon as it is announced. He's been pulling this a lot lately, hasn't he?
New York Rangers Lineup
Hagelin - Richards - Callahan
Anisimov - Stepan - Gaborik
Fedotenko - Boyle - Prust
Rupp - Mitchell - Scott
McDonagh - Girardi
Del Zotto - Stralman
Staal - Bickel
Biron
Comments