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The New York Rangers faced a crucial test in their recent trip to California, and they failed miserably. Now, as they return east with 10 games remaining in their season, many questions have been answered about this team, and even worse, they have proven they are not trustworthy.
Can they win a Stanley Cup this season? Probably not, unless they prove otherwise on the ice in the last 10 games.
More importantly, do they want to win a Cup? Truthfully, it appears half the team doesn’t want to. Some nights, it appears only Henrik Lundqvist wants to win. If you need evidence, look no further than the absolute worst loss of their season, a 4-1 embarrassment against the San Jose Sharks that would have been 10-1 or worse if Lundqvist weren’t on his A-plus game the first two periods.
Following the game, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh remarked about how his team did not compete hard enough, nor did they seem like they wanted to compete. To not hustle or fight is a disgrace for any NHL team on any night, but for this type of effort to occur at Game No. 72 is beyond disturbing and makes you question the heart and soul of the players and coaching staff.
Against the Sharks, the Rangers were outshot 52-26. That is unacceptable for any hockey team, even pee-wee level. How can something like that happen? It appears the players and coach Alain Vigneault cannot answer that question adequately. Their only response following such performances is to react angrily in front of the media. That’s all well and good, but there’s one problem: This type of reaction, usually preceded by closed-door meetings following the game, has happened far too often this season. Nothing has changed, so how can we expect their play and compete level will change after this one?
In my previous article previewing the California trip, I remarked about how one cannot assume the Rangers would come out like gangbusters against three elite Western Conference opponents following two bad losses. They barely got by against the Anaheim Ducks, a game in which Kevin Klein and Antti Raanta single-handedly led the Rangers to victory, they choked away a 3-1 third period lead against the Los Angeles Kings, providing fans a million flashbacks to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final in the process, and in San Jose, 19 Rangers out of 20 did not show up to play. The point is, it cannot be assumed that the Rangers’ game will evolve into a championship-caliber one in the last 10 games. They’ve talked about cleaning up their mistakes enough. They haven’t backed it up on the ice. At this point, it’s impossible to assume anything will change.
Barring a major slump, the Rangers should still make the playoffs. If they do, will they make it past the first round? If one were to say no today, he or she wouldn’t be crazy. Can they make another deep run? Once again, who knows? Anything can happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The real question is, do the Rangers want to make a deep run? They can say “yes” all they want, but right now, you simply can’t trust they are telling the truth. They will have to do a lot of convincing going forward.
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