Rangers vs. Lightning: A Mercy Killing
Hey, at least it's all almost over, right?
- Before we get into the ... whatever it is you're about to hate read about that game, I wanted to acknowledge how deserving of a Mr. Ranger Award Jonathan Quick has been for the organization this year, and that it was a nice recognition for him dealing with ... well ... the subject of what you're about to hate read.
#NYR Jonathan Quick is this year's Rod Gilbert 'Mr. Ranger' Award winner
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 7, 2025
- It's not over until it's over. But it's over. The Rangers sit six points back from Montreal with five games remaining, thanks to a disgusting 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay on home ice Monday night. Any combination of a dropped four points (Rangers losing or Montreal winning, or anything in between) ends the Rangers' season. Officially. But it's been over for a while.
- And in the most New York Rangers way possible, they deserved better than to lose. They out-shot Tampa 18-5 in the second period, after out-shooting them 13-10 in the first. They held the xGF advantage through the first 40 minutes, and just couldn't find a way to break through. And, hey, those games happen to all teams, and the Rangers wouldn't be in this situation if they didn't quit for six weeks.
- And the head coach. I've had a lot to say about the way I think Peter Laviolette has failed to put out the fire burning in the house, but I will continue to maintain he wasn't the one that started it. That said, I respect the hell out of him basically washing his hands of this group in every way possible. That man is going to be looking for a job this summer, so he may as well get as much distance as possible from the mess that is that core.
- I mean ... look at this:
Does Laviolette have a message for the team at this stage?
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) April 8, 2025
"I don’t have a message right now. I don’t go into the locker room after the game."#NYR
