Rangers vs. Penguins: Two Very Sad Points
The New York Rangers "won" a contest 5-3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but only in the most academic sense of the term.
- I have no idea how some of you—and maybe not here, but certainly on social media—continue to sit on the edge of your seats as the Rangers churn toward the playoffs. This is about as lackluster of a team as I can remember, with an aging core that continues to prove it isn't good enough, and is being held together by duct tape, glue, and like three players.
- That win was gross. Full stop. I don't even care about the two points. At this point in the season with what the Rangers have done you really need to look at the long term implications. Do you trust this group to win a playoff game? A series? Two series? Let alone, four?
- And before you read the next bullet, I want to remind you the New York Rangers lost 8-2 to the Buffalo Sabres (not a typo) less than 24 hours before this game happened. After that "contest" Peter Laviolette and the few players who decided to speak to the media talked about how unacceptable it was and how they needed to be better. Well, guess what happened in the Penguins game?
- Shots were 39-16 Penguins. The Rangers were outshot 12-5 in the first, 19-4 (!!!!) in the second, and 8-7 in the third. The second period was one of the most disgusting periods of hockey I have seen the Rangers play all year, and that is truly saying something. Igor Shesterkin is the only reason the Rangers didn't lose this game by double digits. Seriously. And the Rangers pulling this win out is more of a "this should be studied for science" situation than a "this team grinded through a rough night." I mean just look at this chart after the jump (and much more).
