Why The Rangers Are Down in Their First Round Series Against the Caps

I originally did this piece for Sportsnet.ca but figured I would share it with you folks here on Beyond the Back Page as well.

Slumping Offence, PP Woes plaguing Rangers

Coming into their first round match-up with the Washington Capitals, it appeared that the New York Rangers had the right pieces in place to upset the Southeast Division champions.

After losses in Games 1 and 2, however, things are looking might bleak for the Blueshirts. The team got some good chances in Game 1 but could not bury them in a 3-1 loss and in Game 2 Mike Green’s power play goal in overtime sunk the team and put them down 2-0 heading back to New York.

Sometimes, it is not always clear to see why a team is losing a series. In this case, however, it is easy see why the Rangers have not a won a game in this series and have put themselves in a difficult position heading back to Madison Square Garden.

For starters, the team’s power play has been non-existent. The team could not cash in on five chances in Game 1 on Thursday night and in Game 2, struggled to create quality scoring chances on their five power plays, which once again resulted in no goals.

Come playoff time, a team’s power play needs to take advantage of the opportunity when they get one. The Rangers had a big chance in overtime on Saturday afternoon and could not get a puck on net.

Because the Blueshirts were not able to score on the power play, the Capitals were able to cash in on theirs when Rangers’ defenseman Ryan McDonagh took a delay of game penalty. Unlike the Rangers, the Capitals were able to get quality scoring chances and when Green had time at the point, he was able to rip one by a helpless Henrik Lundqvist.

Speaking of Lundqvist, another reason why the Rangers are down in this series is because they appear to be content in watching Lundqvist do everything he can to keep them in the game and the series. While he was not terrific in Game 1, Lundqvist was unbelievable in Game 2 in making 37 saves on 38 shots in a losing effort.

Throughout most of Game 2, the Rangers had trouble picking up the extra man, did not do a good enough job of clearing the guys out of the front of the net and also allowed the Capitals to fire shots at will. There is no doubting that Lundqvist is one of the best netminders in the game but the team in front of him needs to realize that he cannot do it all by himself.

The Rangers have also made life quite easy for Capitals’ masked man Braden Holtby. In two games combined, the Rangers have taken 60 shots and have just one goal to show for it.

This is because the Rangers are not putting themselves in the right spots to score goals. Too often, the shots are coming from way outside or like you saw a lot in Game 2, from the side of the net.

On Holtby, the Rangers need to find a way to generate more traffic in front of the net, take advantage of his mishaps when playing the puck, and to get shots from the slot. If the Rangers are not able to do this, Holtby will continue to have an easy time between the pipes in shutting down the Blueshirts.

One of the other reasons why the Rangers are not scoring is because none of the big players are able to put the puck in the net. The Capitals have been able to find ways to shut down Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Ryan Callahan and Brad Richards and when a team does that, it often puts pressure on a club’s secondary scoring, which the Rangers do not have a lot of.

Lastly, the Rangers need to do a much better job of staying out of the box. In the two games combined, the Rangers have taken ten penalties and if a team does that against the league’s top power play in the Capitals, it will be sure to hurt them like it did in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

The Rangers must find a way to generate more offense, help out Lundqvist and stay out of the box in these next few games because if they don’t, it will be season over for the Blueshirts.