Rangers shaky in shootout win over the Blue Jackets

The Rangers managed to hang on and grab a shootout win against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, solidifying their place in second in the Metropolitan Division. As exciting as this news is, this game was not particularly one to be applauded.

This game featured the Jekyll and Hyde mannerisms that we’ve grown sadly accustomed to of the 2014-15 Rangers. Coming out strong against a sub-.500 team, a team that isn’t even dreaming of springtime hockey, the Rangers lost steam quickly and, quite frankly, embarrassed themselves at the Garden last night.

Lets break this bad boy down in my favorite of the forms, bulletpoint.

• Cam Talbot started the game with a lot of confidence. Maybe a little too much, but certainly the polar opposite of what we’d all thought we would see after that game against Toronto. Lundqvist’s injury has formed Talbot into a different type of player.
• That being said, I think we all miss Hank.
• The beginning of this game was good, the Rangers played with a jump in their step and knew that they were playing a team they could beat. There were some great plays in the first period.
• Of those positives – Kevin Hayes, what a SHOT. Assuming this is his base level of talent, and he only gets better as he grows as a player, we’re all in for a treat.
• On Hayes, it’s so refreshing to see a player who isn’t afraid to take a shot. He’s confident and I dig it.
• Last point on the Hayes goal – it came from a great tip from Carl Hagelin, who was able to steal the puck and tip it over to a wide open Hayes. The fact that Hagelin may not be a Ranger for much longer makes me a very sad fan.
• The Rangers scored some pretty goals, which almost makes the near-loss more worrisome; they allowed a team which left Martin St. Louis wide open in front of the net to score a beauty from Derek Stepan to nearly beat them in a game that mattered.
• Though there were flashes of beauty, most of the first and second periods were a major cluster-you-know-what. It looked like pond hockey most of the time, with not much order or playmaking. The few times we did see plays set up were beautiful, but this wasn’t playoff caliber hockey.
• The Rangers had one shot on goal through sixteen minutes of the third period. Let that set in.
• Since nobody likes to hear complaining all the time, let’s talk about some fun things. How about Mackenzie Skapski being applauded on the MSG big screen and goofily smiling? It must be a wild feeling to have 18,000 people cheering for you.
• Brandon Dubinsky had his sassy pants on (as per usual) and tried to check MSL hard into the boards, which would’ve worked had MSL not ducked. Probably the funniest part of the game right there. I would’ve paid to see those two drop the gloves.
• I have no idea what’s gotten into the MSG DJ but Darude’s “Sandstorm” came on and took me back to 2000.

Whatever came of this game, it’s pretty clear that the Rangers have to get their heads on straight and make some fundamental changes in order to be a serious contender in the playoffs this year.