Rangers Report Blog

Thoughts:

1) During and after this game, I thought about a lot of stuff that didn’t completely have to do with the game. For instance, no matter how much we think we know, we don’t know. Example: Many of us thought Washington would be a much easier matchup that Ottawa. Many of us thought, well, the Rangers will have a much less physical series against Ottawa while Philly and Pittsburgh are beating the crap out of each other for seven games; and then we thought the same about Devils-Flyers. And here are the Rangers playing their second seven-game series, each with two OT games, while the rested Devils (who had a physical bye in the first round) await.

2) And another thing. I wondered if these playoffs—which might turn out to be like nothing we’ve ever seen before in history—might make next year’s trade deadline different. Because, right around the deadline, Phoenix and Washington were thinking about being sellers instead of buyers. I know the Capitals were going to sell if they didn’t think Nick Backstrom and Mike Green would be healthy this year. Look at those teams now. And Buffalo did sell and missed the playoffs on the final day. Who’s to say the Baby Buffaloes wouldn’t still be playing if they hadn’t sold and just got in? Oh, and the Rangers got John Scott.

3) I’m pretty sure (very educated guess) that John Tortorella’s fines have muzzled him, because when I asked him about the icing before the Jason Chimera goal, before the timeout before the Chimera goal, he didn’t want to discuss it. I wasn’t asking him to criticize the officials. I just asked if there was some confusion or thinking that it shouldn’t or might not have been an icing.

4) Because Stu Bickel had played the puck toward the blue line, and there was a Ranger there, with Roman Hamrlik, and the puck went right through Hamrlik’s skates and down the ice. How can that be icing? Did I miss something? Also, the NHL’s official play-by-play sheet said that play was reviewed? Has anybody ever heard of an icing being reviewed? If somebody did review it, well, they’d better stop reviewing such things, because they effed that up. And how about the long-time hockey writer from Canada asking Tortorella what the timeout was about—when it was obviously because they iced the puck and his players were gassed?

5) I’m not trying to coach (Pat Leonard reference), and I’m not second-guessing, and I certainly don’t want to sound like one of you guys who love to talk lines, because I don’t. But I just don’t like the Rangers’ lines the way they are. I don’t mind Chris Kreider on the fourth line because the kid’s had some struggles lately. I just think, in my humble opinion, that Ryan Callahan should be playing with Derek Stepan, who had a pretty decent game … and I don’t care who’s on the left, though Artem Anisimov makes sense, especially when you need some secondary scoring. And I think, in so many cases this year, especially the Ottawa series, that Brian Boyle with Brandon Prust, and usually Ruslan Fedotenko, gives them so many good minutes and such a good forecheck. Maybe there’s a matchup situation I’m not seeing. But I didn’t care for the lines they used last night.

6) That Alex Ovechkin goal? If Callahan doesn’t blow a tire, that probably never happens and maybe it’s a totally different game.

7) This has got to be the longest the Rangers have gone without a fight. Not that Prust wasn’t trying to rile up the Capitals. He speared The Great Eight in the ovechkins, and he shoved around Jason Chimera, who embarrassed himself by diving backward … though the officials embarrassed themselves more by falling for it.

8) Yes, the Capitals have exploited Henrik Lundqvist’s glove in this series. But it’s been some pretty good shooters who solved it. And these deep-in-the-net, butterfly guys are always susceptible to glove shots … just like bad-angle shots.

9) Going back to the icing that led to the second Washington goal: That’s a lousy break, because it shouldn’t have been icing; then after the timeout, Richards lost a draw. Then John Carlson’s shot hit the toe of Nick Backstrom’s skate boot and hopped right to Chimera … who now has five of his seven career playoff goals against the Rangers.

10) Matt Hendricks is Washington’s MVP in this series for my money. Ironically it was he who lost the draw on the GWG in Game 5. But he’s done everything else, including shut down Marian Gaborik’s line for long stretches, and kill penalties (the Rangers helped him) and won so many faceoffs. And squished people. Like a clean Chris Neil/Zenon Konopka combo platter.

11) Did you see Mike Green cough up the puck right over the glass because Boyle was coming?

12) Tortorella ripping the effort, to me, is him already coaching Game 7. Because I didn’t think it was about effort. Maybe in a few cases. Do I think this was their best game. Certainly not. But overall, it was Washington’s ability to score on the PP, and the Rangers’ inability to do the same. Tortorella did agree that the four-minute power play “sucked. It killed us. It sucked.”

13) You guys missed some near fisticuffs between yours truly and a radio clown in the tight quarters of the visiting lockerroom (my second such close encounter of the playoffs). Unfortunately I had just turned off my recorder. Well, maybe fortunately considering some of the vocabulary I used. I would have been banned from the blog.

14) Finally, and maybe this should have been No. 1 … we all saw first hand how difficult it is when all these teams are so even, for a team to match the desperation of the team that’s actually in a more desperate situation. We’ve seen it time and time again in these playoffs. That said, I expect the Rangers will not not have to manufacture desperation and will win Game 7. But not easily.

15) Just wanted to see if you’re still paying attention. That’s a photo of the last time the Rangers clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference final. And the last time that guy played was the last time they had a good power play.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Derek Stepan.
2) Brandon Prust.
3) Henrik Lundqvist.
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Gravy’s Three Rangers Stars:
1) Dan Girardi.
2) Henrik Lundqvist.
3) Ryan McDonagh.
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AP photos, above.

Here’s Josh (age 26) Thomson’s story from The Journal News and LoHud.com today:

By Josh Thomson, 26

NEW YORK — With a young team on the verge of contending in the Eastern Conference, John Tortorella found himself motivated to land Brad Richards as a free agent.

The 32-year old was a champion and a former Conn Smythe winner who’d earned Tortorella’s trust in moments that separate those who lift Stanley Cups from others who simply dream of it.

“He’s got ‘it,’ ” Tortorella said. “I’ve known him since he was a kid when he broke into the league. He’s just made big plays at key times.”

That included an NHL-record seven game-winning goals during Tampa Bay’s 2004 run to the Cup, a victory that helped put the Conn Smythe in his hands and the Cup in Tortorella’s. He added nine more game-winners his first season on Broadway and, on Monday night, arguably the signature goal of this postseason when he tied the score with 7.6 seconds to play in Game 5.

“I definitely haven’t seen everything,” said Richards, who stunned the Coyotes in Phoenix with 0.1 seconds remaining on Dec. 17. “Last night was a new experience for me, too.”

The centerman now leads the Rangers with 10 points through 12 playoff games, including an assist on Marian Gaborik’s triple-overtime winner in Game 3.

His success in the biggest moments comes as little surprise to his coach, who expected nothing less after what they’ve achieved together.

“There’s a relationship there. I’m not going to hide from that at all,” Tortorella said. “He’s done a lot of great things and helped teams that I’ve coached win. When you get involved in that and you go through the ups and downs of that — and him and I have — sure you’re going to develop a relationship.”

That bond meant Tortorella’s faith never wavered during a regular season that saw Richards searching to fit in at times. He has now suddenly lived up to the nine-year, $60 million contract he signed last offseason — and then some.

“I think every player in the NHL, if you asked them, it’s obviously the best time of the year to play,” he explained. “It’s the most exciting. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been in some good situations where I’ve had the chance to succeed, playing with some good players and some good teams.”

The lure of New York included a young roster and his relationship with Tortorella that Richards hoped could leave him fortunate yet again. Teammates often cite his experience and ability to lead by example.

“I’ve been around him all year and he’s done such a great job both on and off the ice,” said 21-year-old defenseman Michael Del Zotto, one of 10 Rangers 25 or younger. “It seems things like that where it’s just experience. He’s won a Cup. He’s been there. He’s been through it. You just have to learn off that. It’s not exactly things he tells you off the ice. You just have to learn by playing through it.”

Richards has been through it, showing his coach and the league that his intangible gifts could produce tangible results.

Even a coach edged in steel wouldn’t dare deny that.

Thoughts:

1) I’m not going into a gigantic rant about the Alex Ovechkin cheapshot on Dan Girardi because it’s a distraction and the Rangers don’t deserve a distraction with the way they played Game 4. … And I don’t want to call for a suspension because Brendan Shanahan and  the NHL Department of Jumping Through Hoops to Not Suspend Guys for Intentional Head Shots have set the bar so unbelievably, sadly low (see Chris Neil, Shea WWEber, et al).

2) Still, this was a leaving-your-feet, charging, ignoring-the-puck, shoulder directly aimed at the head by a repeat offender. One whose last suspension (for leaving his feet to hit an opponent in the head) announcement included this line from the NHL Department of Pretending We’re Trying To Remove Head Shots From the Game But Really Not Actually Trying:

One key note in Shanahan’s explanation:
“The moment Ovechkin launches himself into the air prior to the hit he becomes
responsible for any contact to the head.”

3) And finally, I just stopped laughing over hearing Cheapshot (Head) Hunter’s explanation that it was incidental contact. Cut it out, Dale. You’re killing us. You mean, like that incidental contact with Pierre Turgeon?

4) Wow. Nice time to use your worst period of the playoffs, by far. Henrik Lundqvist bailed them out with that sick save on Ovechkin among many others.

5) Yes the Rangers overcame that start and battled and grinded (is that a word?) and got it tied up with opportunistic goals. But once again the power play let them down, once again they got some head-scratching calls (or non-calls). Once again, they had trouble creating offense.

6) That all said, I fully expect them to come out completely unaffected Monday night. And probably win.

7) I mentioned this last night, but that was a really poor performance by John Tortorella after the game last night. I personally don’t give a crap if he talks to us (or me) …. but there seem to be several hundred thousand of people deeply invested in this team, who pay his salary (and his fines) who want to know what the head coach thinks of the game they just witnessed. Wants to know what happened and why. He’s got to answer.

8) Couple of mistakes by the kid Chris Kreider. The blind giveaway to Ovechkin. Then, I’m not completely sure who was supposed to pick up Nicklas Backstrom, if it was Kreider or Anton Stralman or whomever. Maybe the coach knows. Oh, wait. Never mind.

9) Despite the awful start for the Rangers and the optimal start for the Capitals, I thought the Caps’ D-men were spinning and doing whatever, while coughing up the puck, to avoid hits. I felt the Rangers got away from that constant pressuring those D-men. And while I always question the home-cooking on the stat sheet, the Capitals were credited with 26 blocked shots to the Rangers’ seven. Very un-Ranger-like.

10) On a good note: The Caps do a lot —A LOT—of salutes to servicemen during stoppages. And for every one, Tortorella and his staff take time to applaud and all the Rangers stand up and bang their sticks on the boards. Nice touch.

11) Watching these playoffs I just can’t believe how big the equipment on these goalies has gotten. How did it get so out of hand? How did all these scrawny athletes come to look like Refrigerator Perry? I mean, there are some great goalies out there, but sometimes, often, they just get hit in the equipment.

12) The 1987 Flyers and the 2004 Calgary Flames each played 26 playoff games, which is the record (that’s two seven-game series and two six-game series). Why do I think these Rangers will play 28 games if they survive this series?

13) One more thing: Was the Carl Hagelin elbow on Daniel Alfredsson really, really, really more heinous than the Neil or Ovechkin head shots? Really? Speaking of which, was that Hagelin slash really a penalty, right after Brian Boyle had his stick knocked from his hands? On the Mike Knuble uncalled delay-of-game … well, I felt at that point the Rangers were probably better off 5-on-5 than 5-on-4.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Artem Anisimov.
2) Henrik Lundqvist.
3) Marc Staal.
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True Fans Bleed RW&B’s Three Rangers Stars:
1) Artem Anisimov.
2) Dan Girardi.
3) Henrik Lundqvist.
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AP photos, above.

 

Thoughts:

1) Holy shishkebob. I’d been covering this team since 1978, and had never seen one of these triple-overtimes. Saw them with the Islanders, saw them with the Devils. Never with the Rangers. And in my lifetime, there had only been one—the Pete Stemkowski game in 1971—and I’m pretty sure I heard that one on the radio, though I’ve seen the replay so many times that I feel like I saw it. But this was a first for me … and the longest Rangers game any of you who weren’t born before 1939 have ever seen. Quite an experience.

2) And the Rangers made it an experience. The Capitals, too (they’re 0-4 in games of three OTs or longer, and have lost all four series in which those games were played). But you forget the loser of a game like this for two reasons: A) they lost, B) the Rangers deserved it, as Henrik Lundqvist said. They won it not on skill, but as Marian Gaborik said, on will. And this is the way they play. They changed nothing, through 114:41 of play, that stretched into their day off (and isn’t that extra day between Games 3 and 4 looking good now?) They played the way they play, blocking shots, physical, grinding it out, patient—how many times did they forecheck and come up empty, only to go right back to the forecheck the next shift?—sacrificing blood, bones, facial configurations right on through the third overtime.

3) I completely believe John Tortorella was right because I said so during that third OT—the Rangers looked fresher, like they weren’t going to let fatigue beat them. And while the Capitals sacrificed too, and you could see it in Mike Knuble’s busted-up face, it looked a little bit like they were out of gas toward the end.

4) Marian Gaborik. Give the guy this. He’s been shut down at times, he’s been partly at fault for that, he wasn’t having his best game, even with the assist early and the goalpost he hit about three minutes before the winner. But he kept going, kept plugging. And he got the kind of goal he’s supposed to get, the kind the Rangers need from him.

5) Ryan McDonagh, Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi, Brian Boyle, Marc Staal, Michael Del Zotto = Beast Brigade. If we were any one of them, we’d be in a hospital this morning, and hoping to stay there for about a week. In addition to the blood loss and whatever else they suffered during that 114:41, some stats: McDonagh a game high 53:21 played (Girardi didn’t get there because he was off being “sutured” for a while: “It’s just a couple of flesh wounds”) with eight blocked shots. Callahan was only listed for four hits and five blocked shots and I don’t believe either is even close to what he actually had in 41:52, which is not believable for a forward (he also had a goal way way back in the second period. Girardi had six hits and six blocks. Boyle had nine hits and a couple of blocks (one with his chin, which was split open) … (he also blocked one by Mike Rupp). Staal played 49:30, nearly killed one of the Caps cleanly, had six hits and three blocks. Del Zotto 43:37. Just sick numbers. I could go on. Big as the building.

6) Did I mention the goalkeeper yet? Henrik Lundqvist, who had lost seven consecutive playoff OT games since 2007 (and his team was one off  the NHL record) wouldn’t let them lose. Yeah, he had some breaks, like Alex Ovechkin’s shot off the post in one of the OTs, I forget which. How about the 3-on-1 save on Brooks Laich in regulation? So many saves. Sometimes just getting enough of the puck to keep it out. Just a remarkable performance. Listen to Tortorella’s post-gamer talking about his goalie.

7) This was the best game of the whole season, 92 games in, for the fourth line, and that includes the Winter Classic. Mike Rupp was a force (Boyle blocked his shot, too, a winner into an empty side). Brandon Prust … well, he’s had a lot of good games, and he was really strong in this one. And John Mitchell probably had his best game as a Ranger. Get this. The guy had gone the entire playoffs, nine games, without a shot on goal. He had five shots in this one. Nearly won it a couple of times.

8) Brad Richards. I was joking that his contract was only going to have six years left by the time this game ended (and that Prust didn’t have a beard when it began). Seriously, the guy’s been money in big moments, and he was again in this game. Looked for a few moments in the third OT that he couldn’t move his legs. Then all of a sudden, he got a second wind. And he made so many good plays, I lost count, including the winning pass.

9) Geez, I’m starting to feel bad about guys I didn’t mention, because the effort really was top to bottom.

10) I thought Callahan’s hand looked to really be bothering him when he got run over by Matt Hendricks and couldn’t break his fall with his right hand. But, well, what else can you say?

11) When did Hendricks become a clean version of Chris Neil?

12) The Countdown Guy played some game, too, didn’t he?

13) They put the arena camera on Ted Leonsis during the game, so he can be cheered like some dictator … or Trump.

14) I was noticing that the replays were better and much more plentiful, and that the cameras were zooming in on the right guys at the right times. Then I realized I was watching the CBC feed, and not the NBC feed.

15) Saw The Captain after the game. I asked Mess if he was glad he wasn’t playing. He said it’s tougher to watch a game like that than it is to play one.

16) Whatever high you’re feeling about this game, no matter how devastating it must have been for the Capitals, or how uplifting for the Rangers, remember this. Game 4 will start fresh, as every game does. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if Washington wins that game. Not in the least. As Lundqvist said, and I paraphrase, all this one means is they’ve won two, and they need four.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Marian Gaborik.
2) Henrik Lundqvist.
3) Ryan McDonagh/Dan Girardi.
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Latona’s Three Rangers Stars:
1) Henrik Lundqvist.
2) Ryan McDonagh.
3) Ryan Callahan.
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AP photos, above.

John Tortorella:

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Marian Gaborik:

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Henrik Lundqvist:

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Dan Girardi:

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Brian Boyle:

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Thoughts:

1) This from Braden Holtby, the kid goalie, who has it figured out right, better than a lot of youse who have been watching hockey for years:

You look at the difference in the two games … We hit two posts last game, and they hit two this game. That’s how close it is. … the hockey gods were on our side tonight.”

2) So, yeah. That’s all it is. That’s why I thought it would be 1-1 after two games and at least a six-game series. These teams are alike, and if they get their talented people going and play the way the Rangers play and if Holtby doesn’t completely blow it, it should be a good series.

3) Speaking of the Capitals’ talented people: Alex Ovechkin. If he was a basketball player, he’d be Carmelo Anthony. Or, a chucker. The guy has ceased to make his teammates better, ceased to create for his teammates, ceased to do anything but get the puck and try to shoot from anywhere. He once was feared for the way he recklessly threw his body around, too, and I haven’t seen any of that. Can he still beat you? Yup. He did last night. But he’s not the player he was. And I’m not sure the Ovie Sucks countdown chant—though I think it borders on brilliant—is a good idea. You know, let sleeping dogs lie and all that. Ovechkin sure celebrated his goal, with his glove by his ear, so, yeah, he heard it.

4) All that said about No. 8, Cheapshot Hunter is going to get himself to the unemployment line very quickly if he uses Ovechkin 13 minutes a night and the Capitals go down in flames, which I still think will be their fate in this series.

5) A couple of this, a couple of that. The Rangers made a couple of mistakes—the Stu Bickel play, the Henrik Lundqvist play—he did have a legit excuse with the trapezoid rule, which didn’t strike me at the time—and the two penalties in the third, questionable though they might have been. The Rangers (Michael Del Zotto) also hit that right post hard in the third, and then hit the crossbar in the final minute of the game. So, I know, if, if, if … but this game could really have gone the other way.

6) And how many times this year, and in the first round, did games that could go either way end up going the Rangers’ way? Answer: A lot.

7) How about that No. 1 line in the third period: Rookie Carl Hagelin, Richards and rookie Chris Kreider? The birthday boy had seven hits. Also loved that John Tortorella had him serve the too-many-men penalty … assuming that the idea was that he might get a breakaway out of the box. And he did. Moments before Washington scored.

8) People who were piling on Marian Gaborik in Game 1 and late in the Ottawa series, OK. No problem. He was being played hard, and he was the guy the opponents tried to shut down, and you could argue perhaps that his effort could have been better. Not so in this game, I didn’t think. He made a hell of a pass on the Richards goal, had a few chances that he created himself. There’s just no room.

9) To the conspiracy theorists who appeared as soon as the Rangers took consecutive penalties in the third: There is no possible way that the NHL and NBC do not want the Rangers playing for another six weeks. Philly-Rangers and LA-Rangers would be beyond the network’s wildest dreams. Period. End of story.

10) Good to see Brian Boyle back on the ice. Wasn’t his best playoff game, obviously. But the Rangers need him, and will need him going forward.

11) I thought two Rangers had exceptional games: Ryan Callahan and Michael Del Zotto.

12) And, hey, the power play scored!

13) That R-A-N-G-E-R-S song is just embarrassingly bad. So is NBC’s production in terms of replays and such. Too bad MSG Network and its usually outstanding production has been put to bed.

14) Told ya, 1-1 after two. Rangers in six.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Michael Del Zotto.
2) Ryan Callahan.
3) Dan Girardi.
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Joekuh’s Three Rangers Stars:
1) Ryan McDonagh.
2) Brad Richards.
3) Michael Del Zotto.
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AP photos, above.

FORWARDS:
This is obviously where the Capitals are most dangerous, and most confusing. Alex Ovechkin is coming off what is seen as a bad year (yet he scored 38 goals). He was benched at times in the Boston series. But he loves playing against the Rangers, especially at MSG, and his rivalries against the Rangers’ top three defensemen is legendary. Nick Backstrom missed 40 games with a concussion, yet he had 44 points in 42 games. Alex Semin is mercurial, and often a target of criticism for effort and grit, but was second on the team in scoring. Marcus Johansson is highly skilled. Then there are the grit guys: Brooks Laich, Jason Chimera, Jay Beagle, Matt Hendricks and especially  Mike Knuble and Joel Ward, who were scratched at times, and who combined for the winning goal in OT in Game 7 of the first round (incidentally, John Tortorella was an assistant on the Rangers staff that thought it was a good idea to trade Knuble for Rob DiMaio in 2000). The Capitals only had Ovechkin, Backstrom and D-man Mike Green in the same lineup for 12 games during the season, but were 11-1 in those games.
The Rangers, have skill, too, just not as much of it. Brad Richards was very good throughout the Ottawa series. Marian Gaborik was shut down quite a bit. Ryan Callahan’s playing with a bad hand. Brandon Dubinsky and Brian Boyle may not play Game 1, or who knows when? So it will be up to guys like Derek Stepan, who played sensationally in Games 5-6-7, and X-factor speedster rookies Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider, and grind guys like Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko to make a difference.
EDGE: Capitals.

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DEFENSEMEN:
This was the Rangers’ strong suit, especially in Games 6 an 7 vs. Ottawa, but throughout really, as they clamped down on Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Daniel Alfredsson, et al. Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal have all battled the Capitals and Ovechkin for years, and they were great in Game 7. Michael Del Zotto was battle tested, and passed, throughout the series, as did Anton Stralman. Stu Bickel provides toughness in his few shifts. It’s possible Bickel moves up to a wing and Steve Eminger plays if both Boyle and Dubinsky are out.
The Capitals’ D is better than some think — a mixed group that includes offensive Mike Green (who played just 32 games with concussion issues), and Dennis Wideman, John Carlsson, Karl Alzner, Jeff Schultz, Roman Hamrlik and tough John Erskine.
EDGE: Rangers.

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GOALTENDERS:
On paper, this is a no-brainer, just as the Rangers-Ottawa matchup should have been. But guys rise to the occasion, and Braden Holtby, the third-string Capitals goalie, stepped up in the first round with injuries sidelining Tomas Vokoun and Michael Neuvirth. The Rangers dispatched of Jose Theodore in the ‘09 series, and were beaten by unknown backup Simeon Varlamov. Last year they were wiped out by Neuvirth.
Henrik Lundqvist lost both of those series, even though he was responsible for the 3-1 lead in games in the ‘09 meeting. He’s a better goalie now, with a much better team in front of him, and he is their best player. He has to be their best player over the next two weeks, and as long as they last.
EDGE: Rangers.

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SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Rangers power play has been awful forever, but it came up with two big games in the last series, including a pair of PPGs in the Game 6 survival in Ottawa. It has to produce something at times during this series. Their penalty kill has been good all year, and was good vs. Ottawa’s strong power play (but did bend, allowing four PPGs). Washington went 3-19 on the power play, but killed 21 of 23 Boston power plays.
EDGE: Even.

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COACHING:
John Tortorella got himself suspended during the ‘09 series with Washington. But he has done a masterful job in building this team, which plays playoff hockey all year, and which has arrived a year or two earlier than expected. He’s won a Cup as a coach with Tampa Bay.
Dale Hunter replaced very successful Bruce Boudreau (and became the first person to score a Game 7-winning goal and coach a Game 7 victory). He’s a rookie NHL coach, also a motivator, with no NHL championship experience as a player or coach.
EDGE: Rangers.

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My second-round predictions:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:
Rangers over Capitals in 6.
Flyers over Devils in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Blues over Kings in 7.
Predators over Coyotes in 5.

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Here is my game story from the Game 7 clincher, from LoHud.com and The Journal News.

Here is the Rangers’ notebook by Josh Thomson, 26.

Thoughts:

1) On the Chris Neil assault on Brian Boyle … not only did he drive-by, blind-side, head-target him, but after Boyle went down, Neil gave him another shot in the back of the head. I don’t think John Tortorella was correct in saying it’s the same as Raffi Torres … he didn’t leave his feet, and while it was dirty and dangerous, as Tortorella said, I don’t think it was as dirty. But it was dirty, and he should absolutely be suspended. Do I have faith in Brendan Shanahan to get that done? Nope.

2) Does anybody know, for sure, if Neil is a repeat offender? Because I don’t. I know he plays way over the edge a lot, and he has a reputation as a dirty player, but it’s 2 a.m. and I don’t know that he’s been suspended before, and I don’t have time to look.

3) Here’s the thing, whether he’s suspended for two or three games, or if he’s sent away for life, the Rangers are going to miss Boyle terribly in Game 6, and any and all subsequent games they survive to play without him. They are awful on faceoffs, and without him they’re worse. Their top two lines are terribly inconsistent and he gives them consistent minutes. Never mind the three goals and the fact that he scored their only two game-winners. He’s also become their best penalty killer, or second to Ryan Callahan, perhaps. And their penalty kill has been huge in this series.

4) The shame of Game 5 is the wasted performance by Henrik Lundqvist. And that was one of the league’s truly skilled players scoring 5-hole on him, where he rarely gives one up. And it was a woeful d-zone play by John Mitchell and Ryan McDonagh chasing the puck that allowed Jason Spezza to pop wide open like that.

5) Well, Carl Hagelin comes back for Game 6. I am certain that his absence hurt in the sense that it broke up the No. 1 line … which was going pretty well for a pretty long time, including Game 1. I do wonder if any of the Senators will go after him, now, too. I wouldn’t be surprised.

6) It sounded as if Chris Kreider may have earned a chance to stay in the lineup with his limited minutes anyway, but now, with offense so desperate, and especially with Boyle out, he’s got to stay in.

7) I thought the first power play was decent. Then I thought they got progressively worse, to the point of pathetic. Wow, we never saw that coming this year, did we? Still, booing your team off the ice, down 1-0 after one period of a pivotal Game 5? I don’t get that.

8) I know a lot of you are laying a lot of blame on Marian Gaborik, and to a point that’s fair. It’s a bottom-line sport, and his bottom line is puck-in-net or not. But I thought he stood in there and took some big hits from Carkner and Greening, and handed a few out. And I thought he was really trying. Erik Karlsson got smacked a few times, too, by Brandon Prust and Mike Rupp and a few others, and kept on going. He’s some kind of player.

9) When Ryan Callahan took the penalty against Greening for the hit on Gaborik, well, let’s just say we haven’t seen as much of that all-for-one stuff in this series since Brandon Dubinsky got tossed in Game 2.

10) Michael Del Zotto, hasn’t had a great series by any stretch, and hasn’t done much at all with Neil in his grill for five games. I will give him this, too. He’s gone at it with Neil, physically, sneaky-dirty … even ticked off Neil a few times.

11) I’m not even going to try to dissect faceoffs … except to say that I think part of it is focus, attention and effort.

12) When Spezza went to the penalty box, one of the Ottawa guys in the pressbox said it was the first roughing penalty of his life.

13) My Rangers in 5 pick is long gone. My Rangers in 6 amendment is shot. I will say this. Based on what they’ve shown all year, and only on that, I don’t necessarily think they’re done.

14) All that said, plenty of people thought this was a bad matchup because of Ottawa’s speed and skill and special teams. Plenty thought the other way because of the Rangers grind and their goalie. Well, can everybody be wrong? Because Ottawa has sure proved otherwise on all counts. I don’t think they’ve outplayed the Rangers overall to any great degree. But almost all the parts of this series—other than the Rangers’ struggles scoring, on the power play, and on faceoffs—are surprising. To me, anyway.

15) I’m also not buying any of the Matt Carkner-Boyle, Hagelin-Daniel Alfredsson, etc., turning point theories, because the Rangers could easily have won Game 2 and Game 4 and been done with this, and they could have won Game 5 and been up 3-2. I know, coulda, coulda, coulda. But a turning point suggests the series turned there, and this one really hadn’t turned to where it is until somebody won Game 5, and it was Ottawa.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Henrik Lundqvist.
2) Marc Staal.
3) Derek Stepan.
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True Blue Mike’s Three Rangers Stars:
1) Ryan McDonagh.
2) Henrik Lundqvist.
3) Anton Stralman.
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AP photos, above.

By now you’ve heard that Brian Boyle has a concussion and is out, presumably for the series, or at least Game 6. John Tortorella compared it to the Raffi Torres hit that drew a 25-game suspension earlier today.

Not sure if it was that bad, but there’s also no doubt that it was a head-shot, delivered late and deliberately, and though I don’t think the severity of the injury should be taken into account, the NHL does. So Neil will almost surely be facing something. Then again, the NHL has made some head-scratching decisions all year.

Josh Thomson will be back with more interviews shortly.

Here’s a batch.

John Tortorella:

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Dan Girardi:

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Henrik Lundqvist:

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Ryan Callahan:

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Marc Staal:

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Brad Richards:

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Marian Gaborik:

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Thoughts:

1) Well, there goes my Rangers in 5 prediction. Back to Kanata Monday. Yee-freakin-hah!

2) This has been an odd series, IMO, in that I thought Ottawa’s best game start to finish was Game 3, a game the Senators lost, and one of those many, many games this season that could have gone either way and went the Rangers way.

3) That said, the Rangers—and every other team that plays playoff hockey—sing the mantra about how “we expect that they will get better each game, and so we have to get better, too.” And I think, though that hasn’t proven to be completely true in this series, that Ottawa has gotten better as the series has gone on, and the Rangers haven’t gotten much better, if at all. I don’t think they’ve played, except for the first part of Game 1, anywhere near their best yet. They’d better hurry now.

4) The Senators are 2-0 in games Matt Carkner plays. Just proves how usesless stats are. Carkner nearly cost them Game 2 by himself, and the Senators ended up winning despite him, and long after he had been kicked out of the game. And he had a huge hand in the Game 4 win with that assist out of the penalty box. And he made a smart play by delaying coming out of the box, though I’m not sure why he did it, so that he hopped out just as the puck was arriving, and in stride. I still say he stepped in carcillo and was extremely lucky there, because he had taken a dreadful penalty in the first place and Marc Staal nearly put the game away on the power play just before Carkner was released. He also made a nice pass. So credit where it’s due. I think he was a complete non-factor otherwise.

5) Now, about Zenon Konopka. I still say Paul MacLean messed up big-time in not using Konopka or Carkner in Game 1 and trying to beat the Rangers with a soft lineup, it it still might end up costing the Senators the series. But since Konopka was re-inserted, he and Chris Neil have created havoc around Henrik Lundqvist and along the walls. I think the Rangers have handled them well, but they have had to pay them a lot 0f attention, and expend a lot of energy doing it.

6) That sure was a shocking start for the power play, wasn’t it? The Rangers were 25-2-4 when they scored PPGs during the season. They are 0-2 when they score PPGs in the playoffs.

7) A lot of times I’ve noticed Marian Gaborik taking off, and then noticed that he’s playing against the fastest defenseman in the league in Erik Karlsson. I think that has hampered Gaborik some, and so has Filip Kuba, and so has not having Carl Hagelin for the last two games (and Game 5). So last night the GAS line was reunited, as was the Brandon Dubinsky-Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan line.

8) John Tortorella kind of piled it on Artem Anisimov for taking that penalty that led to the Senators’ first goal. Not defending Anisimov, but if they do a better chance around the net on the shot by Sergei Gonchar, maybe we don’t even remember the Anisimov penalty. And he wasn’t the only guy to take one.

9) That Marc Staal hit on Jason Spezza … I’m not sure what part of Staal’s arm or shoulder hot Spezza, and it sure wasn’t a high hit, because Spezza’s head was low and going lower. But the fact is, the point of contact was the head, and so I’m not sure he won’t be hearing from Brendan Shanahan today. Then again, I’m not sure anymore at all what is a penalty, what isn’t, what’s deserving supplemental discipline, what isn’t.

10) Chris Kreider, in his very few shifts, sure showed off his wheels in this game, didn’t he? Used them like Hagelin, in a defensive way, and in a way to force a play by the Senators. And he had another really good scoring chance. That said, I don’t know if he plays beyond Game 5, after which Hagelin comes back.

11) The Senators finally contained Brian Boyle.

12) Speaking of dumb penalties, how stupid was the slew foot by Nick Foligno against Ryan Callahan at that stage of the game?

13) Sometimes I believe stuff just happens and that you don’t draw conclusions. The fact that Henrik Lundqvist has lost seven straight OT games in the playoffs is one of those. IMO, it doesn’t way anything negative about Lundqvist other than maybe he’s been in an unusual, maybe inexplicable bad-luck streak. But I think if it goes on much longer, it could be a problem.

14) What was more unbelievable last nght? That Philly allowed 10 goals? Or that the game didn’t deteriorate into another fight-fest? Also, does anybody think it’s not possible for Pittsburgh and/or Vancouver to come back from 0-3? Two years ago, Philly came back from 0-3 and won a series. Last year two teams—Chicago and Detroit—fell behind 0-3 and ended up forcing a Game 7. The Blackhawks lost  Game 7 to Vancouver in OT, the Red Wings lost Game 7 to San Jose 3-2.

**********************************************
My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Brad Richards.
2) Marc Staal.
3) Dan Girardi.
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rangerJHW’s Three Rangers Stars:
1) Dan Girardi.
2) Ryan McDonagh.
3) Brad Richards—maybe he should take every faceoff!
**********************************************
AP photos, above.