Is the Rangers System Cracking?

So much of this season for the New York Rangers has been about its system. However, their Game 2 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning was not the way the Rangers like to play. What took place Monday at home in Madison Square Garden was not something they recognized or wanted in the least.

In a penalty-marred, mistake-filled, sloppy effort, every reason why New York was content playing its record streak of 15 straight low scoring playoff games were laid out in stinging vivid detail.

The potent offense of the Lightning won against the Rangers defense-first style. They routed the Rangers 6-2 to take a 1-1 tie back to Tampa Bay for Game 3. Without any doubt, the game was the worst the Ranges have played during the postseason and Ryan McDonagh, the team captain said so following the game.

He said he had never seen the team play so poorly. He said the team needed to realize that selfish, stupid penalties will cost the team. Tampa he added has too much skill and we are just making it easier for them to beat us.

The more McDonagh spoke the more he repeated how the skill players for Tampa were so dangerous and more memories of how the games were played during the regular season versus the Lightning seemed to come to mind.

Counting the games during the regular season, Tampa Bay has scored five goals or more against the Rangers’ Henrick Lundqvist in three out of five games they have played head to head. That sort of thing does not happen, especially not to the talented Lundqvist.

The series from the start was expected to be an exciting contrast between the league leading Tampa Bay offense against a New York team that has the deepest and best defensive corps in the NHL in front of one of the best goaltenders in the game. On Monday, most of the things that went wrong were not the fault of Lundqvist.

The Rangers could not help but gift wrap Tampa’s scoring opportunities.

Martin St. Louis might lead the Rangers in assists during the postseason with six, including two on Monday, but he is hurting them in both small and big ways. He continued Monday whiffing on set up chances and others chances in front of the Tampa Bay net.

However, the biggest mistake was when he over skated the puck after not anticipating a pass back to him that Tampa picked up in its own zone and took down the ice to score while New York was on a 5 on 3 power play.

McDonagh called that play a killer, going from 5 on 3 to 2 on zero.

The Rangers will have to find a way to keep the Lightning in check on offense or this series could end quickly, and not in the Rangers favor.