henrik lundqvist mark stone

Credit: AP / Sean Kilpatrick

The Rangers laid an egg last night in Ottawa, coming out slow and looking sloppy all night in a 2-1 loss. Henrik Lundqvist did the best he could to keep the Rangers in it, but penalties and luck kept him from doing so. Luckily it was only Game 1, and the goal for the Blueshirts is to come away with a split in Ottawa. They have a chance to salvage that on Saturday, but they can’t come out the way they did last night. As usual, I have some thoughts.

1. Last night’s game was oddly reminiscent of Game 3 against Montreal. It wasn’t as bad as that game, it wasn’t even close honestly, but the issues gave me bad flashbacks. There was no consistent forecheck. There was no consistent speed through the neutral zone. There was no sustained offensive pressure. Craig Anderson barely had to move, and most of his saves were pretty simple shots. It wasn’t Rangers hockey, and Guy Boucher made Alain Vigneault’s Rangers play right into their 1-1-3 trap (remember, it’s a 1-1-3, not a 1-3-1). The Rangers need to take a long look at themselves in the mirror and remember what they did in Games 4-6 against Montreal. That’s how they will win.

2. Can things get any worse for Kevin Hayes? He’s been bad all postseason –and honestly, has been declining since a great rookie year– and it culminated in this, where he just fell. No one around him, he just fell down. He’s one part of the problem that is consistent scoring in the playoffs this year, but it goes beyond that. He seems lost, maybe even overwhelmed, at the prospect of a legitimate Rangers club that can make a run. He’s not back checking, he’s lost defensively, and he’s making mistakes we don’t normally see from him. I can deal with declining production if he’s still the heady, two-way player we expect. But right now, he isn’t.

3. The bigger problem for the Rangers, though, was staying out of the box. Ottawa is certainly a faster and more skilled club than Montreal, so perhaps that was a factor. The Rangers were used to a physical series, where the Habs couldn’t really get behind them and burn them. The Sens can do that. It led to a ton of stick penalties that is indicative of players being caught flat-footed. Luckily that is fixable by correcting the issues mentioned in #1.

4. As Justin pointed out, getting Anderson to move laterally is going to be key for the Rangers. The Rangers didn’t really do that consistently. Anderson did have to make a few key stops, which he did, but he wasn’t really tested much either. The goal by Ryan McDonagh, with Chris Kreider in front, was the only screened shot I can recall. I may be subject to recency bias, but I just don’t remember Anderson having to make many difficult saves. Not nearly as many as Henrik Lundqvist did, at least.

5. It was only Game 1. There’s no need to hit the panic button yet. Unlike against Montreal, where Game 3 came after a Game 1 that Hank stole and a Game 2 that the Rangers blew, this doesn’t require an overreaction yet. The Senators are so different than the Canadiens that there was going to be a shock to the system for the Rangers. The good news is that the Sens play a somewhat similar neutral zone style to the Habs (1-1-3 vs. 1-2-2). So what worked against Montreal should theoretically work against the Senators. The major difference –something we’ve said a lot lately– is that the Senators are better skaters and more skilled, so the Rangers will have to work even harder to wear down the Senators.

6. One of the major adjustments the Rangers are going to have to make is the physical play. Against Montreal, the Rangers could afford to finish their checks if it took them out of position. Montreal wasn’t fast enough to turn the puck the other way. Ottawa is, and it showed. There were a bunch of times where Rangers finished checks, and it led to short odd-man situations against. Finishing your check is all well and good, as long as it doesn’t take you out of position for an offensive chance against. Plus, Ottawa is fast enough to avoid the checks. If you recall, that tone was set in the first 10 seconds, when Zack Smith avoided a hit from Dan Girardi. Smith isn’t even that fast of a player, but avoiding the hit sets the tone that the Senators are not the Canadiens.

7. As per usual, we don’t deserve Henrik Lundqvist.

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