Posted by By Jon Gabrielle
So much for game plans…getting pucks in deep, establishing the forecheck and jumping on what should have been a road weary opponent, early and often.
Final score: Panthers 3, Rangers 2.
Yet despite being out-played and out shot(12-7) during the first twenty minutes, the Rangers found themselves clinging to a 1-0 lead.
Coach John Tortorella’s appraisal during his post game press conference. “In the beginning of the game we struggled…the second half was much better with puck control.”
In front of their home fans and facing a team that was about to play their 6th game in 9 nights, the Rangers needed their goalie to once again keep them in a game. “Hank gave us a chance early,” Tortorella remarked.
Meanwhile the Rangers had 3 days to prepare, rest, and whatever else it is you do in “the city that never sleeps,” to get ready for the Panthers.
A perplexed Tortorella remained calm addressing the media, only reiterating time and again, “we’ve got to battle through this…stay together as a team, stay with it and go to work tomorrow.”
Lundqvist keeps head up. (photo by duluoz cats/flickr)
But if that doesn’t sound like a man with answers to this prolonged offensive ineptitude, then perhaps this quote from the coach will give you some insight into his world this morning. “I wish I could tell you how to get out of it…it sucks!”
The usual suspects provided what little offensive spark the Rangers did create . Vaclav Prospal opened the scoring with a nice steal just inside the Panther blue line. Cutting across the ice he used the Panther defensemen as a screen inside the circle and his wrist shot trickled past Tomas Vokoun. But on this night, in front of another sellout crowd at the Garden, even this “soft” goal could not ignite the Blueshirts.
Marian Gaborik would pull the Rangers within one at 6:01 of the third, giving the team some momentum while sending the Panthers scrambling. However, that would be it for the Rangers as they dropped their fourth game in five contests.
After a promising 7-1 start to the season, the proverbial wheels have come off as the Rangers slipped into a tie for 9th place in the conference standings at 11-10-1.
If John Tortorella’s mantra, “go to work tomorrow” has any redeeming attributes, then tomorrow cannot come quickly enough for these N.Y. Rangers!
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