Rangers embarrass themselves in Jersey, lose 4-0

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I’m not as high-tech as Dave is, so you don’t get pictures tonight.  Not that you wanted them…

Well, that was fun.  The Rangers dropped a laugher tonight to the Devils in Newark by a score of 4-0.  Let’s break down the ineptitude…

Devils 1, Rangers 0

This play started in the offensive zone, where Derick Brassard made an ill-advised pass through the middle attempting to find John Moore at the point.  Instead, the pass was picked and the Devils went to work in the Rangers’ zone.  As the cycle progressed behind the net, Moore got caught wandering and failed to pick up his man.  Hank provided a juicy rebound and Andrei Loktionov was left all alone in front to net his first of the year.

Devils 2, Rangers 0

The Suit and I found ourselves in a little disagreement over this one on Twitter.  Girardi committed to a questionable pinch, and a nice pass by Jagr saw Adam Henrique streak behind Darrell Powe and Girardi along the boards.  Henrique sped in an ripped a shot over Lundqvist’s blocker on the short side.  Suit thought Hank should have had it, I thought it was just a nice shot.  Anyone care to weigh in?

Devils 3, Rangers 0

Dominic Moore took a stupid penalty for playing the puck with his glove off the face-off.  He claimed he didn’t know this rule in the pre-season, but there are no excuses now.  On the ensuing powerplay, Michael Ryder took a hard, low shot from the point.  The shot hit Dan Girardi’s stick and deflected under Lundqvist’s glove for a backbreaking 3-0 deficit.

Devils 4, Rangers 0

This goal was simply a result of soft play in front of the net.  The Suit made another astute observation about the mismatch in size between Zucc and Dainius Zubrus on the draw, but the net-mouth coverage was seriously lacking all the way around.  Hank gave up a big rebound and Zubrus followed the rebound up, nearly unmolested to put this one away.

Closing thoughts:

• Missing Nash, Callahan, Hagelin and MDZ from the lineup at once is a tough blow for this team.  That said, they gotta bring more than they did tonight.
• The effort is there from Jesper Fast, but he looks outmatched.  If not for the injuries, I’d have to think he’d be back in Hartford.
• The Rangers made life real easy on Cory Schneider tonight.  22 saves in a Marty Brodeur special.
• My scotch bottle is now empty.  Thanks, boys.