On to NY….

Well that sucked. The Rangers were just awful tonight. They came out flat, took soft penalties (a ton of them), allowed shorthanded goals. I mean, what else is there to say? They were dominated. They did everything they did in Game 3. Varlamov wasn’t really challenged until the 3rd period, and now has two (TWO!) shutouts in the playoffs in four games. This was tough to watch, and it got real ugly in the 3rd.

Has anyone heard from or seen Scott Gomez? What about Nik Zherdev? If anyone has seen or heard from them, please let the Rangers know. They have no idea where they have gone. They are key players that need to show that they exist and care on the ice. This team has not gotten any pressure on a 22 year old rookie playing in elimination games, and Gomez, as a team leader, should be one of the people leading the charge in getting pucks to the net. They need to get some sustained offense. AND STAY OUT OF THE EFFING BOX!!! HOLY CRAP!! Hooking, tripping, holding, it’s all lazy hockey. It’s pathetic.

That Ovechkin goal was just silly. The man is a highlight reel every time he touches the puck.

A few positives: Dubi had another strong game, as did Cally, Staal and Girardi. These four usually seem to be the only consistent players that have strong games when the rest of the team stinks. Also, good move by Torts pulling Hank in the 3rd. He was exhausted, and it showed.

As for sitting Avery, I agree with the move. The Avery fanatics won’t, but be realistic, he wouldn’t have made a difference in this game. We know Voros isn’t an upgrade over Avery (they should have called up someone from Hartford), but Avery needed to sit for almost costing the Rangers Game 4. I don’t care what anyone says, this game is still a Caps domination with Avery or without him.

Game 6 back at the Garden on Sunday. Let’s hope the Rangers come out like they got nothing to lose.