• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Vancouver Canucks

The New York Rangers: A Tale of Two Eyes

By Frank Castaldi October 19th, 2011

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp
Brandon Prust Rangers

(Icon SMI) Brandon Prust took two of the Rangers eight penalties Tuesday night

For the optimistic Rangers fan, Tuesday night’s 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks was a great way for the Blueshirts to get a tally in the left side of the Win/Loss column. After all, there were several areas where the Rangers (1-1-2) excelled in that the optimistic fan can be proud of.

They can bask in how amazing Henrik Lundqvist played between the pipes; turning away all 40 shots the Canucks fired his way. They can be impressed of how well the penalty kill unit played, going a perfect eight-for-eight against one of the most potent power plays in the entire NHL.

They can even hang their hats on how the Rangers were finally able to find secondary scoring; Mike Rupp snapped the 0-0 deadlock early into the third period, scoring his first goal as a Ranger. Brian Boyle also scored his first goal of the year, while Brandon Prust recorded two assists.

The optimistic Rangers fan can also be excited that Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik continued to develop chemistry together, as the duo combined on the Rangers’ fourth goal, when Gaborik netted his third goal of the year.

Yes, for the optimistic Rangers fan, it was a gritty, resilient, hard-fought victory over a team that came one game away from being crowned Stanley Cup champions just a few short months ago.

It was a great way for the Rangers to embark on their four-game voyage across Canada, before eventually returning home to a newly-renovated Madison Square Garden for the first time this season, returning the favor to our Northern Neighbor when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The ship has begun to right the course for the optimistic Rangers fan.

Then, on the other side of the coin, there’s pessimistic; bitter; cynical; same-old-story Rangers fan.

For this discouraged realistic group of Garden inhabitants, the stats remain the same, but the GPS took them on an alternate route to the 4-0 outcome.

They saw Lundqvist make 40 saves. However, not only did they see him stop puck after puck fired at him; they saw the defense allow second, third and even fourth opportunity chances thrown his way. They saw Erik Christensen set up a barbecue and open up a six-pack of cold ones in front of the net while he watched Alex Burrows skate right by him and rip a point-blank shot on his goaltender.

These fans know the only reason the Rangers were able to grab the 1-0 lead early into the third period, rather than entering the final 20 minutes trailing by at least five goals, was because King Henrik was bailing his teammates out at every corner–a theme that’s become the norm for New York.

The cynical observer didn’t see a perfect eight-for-eight with a man down. No, they saw a team that leads the NHL with penalty minutes per-game (23.2 PIM/G), continue to play an undisciplined game in all areas of the ice.

They watched one of the Rangers’ best penalty killers in Prust, take a bone-headed holding-the-stick penalty while deep in the offensive zone.

After killing off Prust’s penalty, rather than playing a smarter, more disciplined game while watching Prust sitting at the end of the bench for nearly the entire second period, the Rangers decided to rattle off another five-consecutive minor penalties.

Sure, even the most contemptuous fan could agree that the Rangers finally tapped into their secondary scoring, right?

Well, they can also point a finger at the lack of offense that was evident for the entire game.

Here’s a stat to put that into perspective: the Canucks had 11 shots on goal while on the power play–the Rangers had nine shots total through the first 40 minutes.

It wasn’t until Roberto Luongo decided he wanted to donate the game to Rangers, that the Blueshirts were able to sustain any form of offensive prowess.

Unlike Lundqvist, who snuck into the Rogers Arena and robbed the Vancouver fans blind of a victory, Luongo was in the Holiday spirit early; giving a victory away for free in a gift-wrapped box to the Rangers, only stopping six of the 10 shots he faced in the third.

The only positive that both the cynical and Utopian Rangers fan can probably agree on, is the emergence of defenseman Ryan McDonagh.

McDonagh, in his second NHL season, continued to play brilliantly on both sides of the ice for the Rangers.

The former first-round pick notched a goal and assist, while logging over 24 minutes of ice time. The 22-year-old sophomore–along with Dan Girardi–has been playing a large role for the Rangers in the absence of both Marc Staal and Michael Sauer.

If the Rangers plan being a legitimate contender for the Cup this season, they are going to have allow both their optimistic and pessimistic followers to arrive at the boxscore on the same route.

 

You can follow Frank on Twitter here

 

  • Tags
  • Henrik Lundqvist
  • Marian Gaborik
  • Roberto Luongo
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 15th 4:20 PM
Column

Jets News & Rumors: Scheifele, Laine, Hellebuyck, Lewis & Quicksand

Jan 15th 4:10 PM
New York Rangers

Rangers Bring More of the Same in 2020-21 Opening Night

Jan 15th 3:45 PM
Column

Red Wings News & Rumors: Ryan, COVID, Markstrom & More

Jan 15th 3:30 PM
Boston Bruins

2020-21 Season Openers: Flames Lose Again, Islanders & Capitals Excel

Jan 15th 3:20 PM
Florida Panthers

Panthers Sending Signals That Yandle’s Time in Florida Is Over

Jan 15th 3:10 PM
Column

Rangers News & Rumors: Opening Night, Rooney, and More

Jan 15th 2:40 PM
St Louis Blues

Mike Hoffman Takes the Blues’ Power Play From Great to Elite

Jan 15th 2:05 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers’ Nugent-Hopkins Joins Team’s Decade Club as Free Agency Looms

Jan 15th 1:29 PM
Archives

Fuhr Suspension Helped Pave Way for NHL Drug Policy

Jan 15th 1:15 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs’ Matthews Calls for Consistency on Cross-Checking Calls (Video)

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information