Published 07:21, March the 8th, 2010
Sabres sneak by hard-luck Lundvist, Rangers
Kaleta's OT goal sends Rangers to third straight loss
The evidence is overwhelming.
Despite the 2009-10 New York Rangers’ testimony, they are not a contender. They are not even a playoff team.
The latest evidentiary proceeding was Sunday night’s 2-1 overtime loss to Buffalo at the Garden.
Even with the loss, the Rangers earned a participation point and are two points behind Eastern Conference seventh seed Montreal, who beat Anaheim 4-3 in the shootout, and one point behind eighth-seeded Boston.
For a group that believes itself to be a playoff team, the Rangers’ myriad ills have to be cured with 16 games remaining in this season, starting Wednesday night in Newark.
Before the game, John Tortorella praised his team’s work in the neutral zone, then lamented its lack of discipline and its inability to “pay off opportunities when we had them” in Washington Saturday night.
Last night, the Rangers only took two penalties. Dan Girardi was called for a first period defensive zone hook, while Artem Anisimov was whistled for a hook in the second period. The Rangers killed both penalties, and their work in the neutral zone was superb.
Those were the positives.
The negative is, once again, the almost infinitesimal goal scoring. After last night, the Rangers are 26th in the NHL with 168 goals. Incredibly, 66 games into the campaign, the players and coaches vowed, as they have all year long, that the goals will eventually come.
“We’re not the only team. We end up kind of ganging up on it. We’re not the only team. We’re fighting. We needed two points (last night) and got one. We got to keep on fighting. That’s all we can do,” Tortorella clichéd. “There is a lot of questions about offense. The way we’re trying to approach it is (to) make sure we’re doing the right things away from the puck, so we can get the puck back and have it more (to) try to generate more offense. We are going to continue to do that; continue fight each and every night and see where we go.”
If the Olympics were a two-week long promotional video of The Game’s intrinsic beauty and skill, last night’s match was an indictment of the 82-game NHL campaign. Energy and vitriol was lacking on both sides. The first post-whistle scrum came with 7:40 remaining in the second period, following a Ryan Callahan semi-break on Team U.S.A. teammate Ryan Miller. Miller made 35 saves on the night.
Brandon Dubinsky appeared to break the scoreless tie with 10:53 left in the third, having poked a rebound under Miller and into the net. However, because Chris Drury was unable to keep the puck in at the blueline about five seconds prior, the goal was waived off.
Buffalo’s grind line center Adam Mair’s fourth of the year with 6:03 left did break the tie. Mair won a battle in the corners, then drove to the net and jammed the puck under hard-luck loser Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist turned away 30 shots.
Dubinsky tied the game at one with 1:23 remaining with an almost exact replication of his disallowed goal. Dubinsky’s goal was his 16th and the Rangers’ first in 149:30. In that span, the Rangers had been outscored by a collective 6-0 by Pittsburgh, Washington and the Sabres.
“We got one late to tie the game,” Ryan Callahan said. “I think we’re getting our chances. We’re getting pucks to the net. We definitely have to get some bodies in front of the net. Our one goal, we (had) guys in his eyes.”
Agitating right wing Patrick Kaleta won the game with 2:38 in OT with a wraparound and subsequent stuff off of Lundqvist. The goal was Kaleta’s ninth of the season and his first since January 18. Of Kaleta’s nine goals, three have come against the Rangers.
“I knew I was in trouble because he was back so fast on the rebound. I was just hoping for one of our players to take him out,” Lundqvist said of the game-winner. “When you are down like that on the ice, it’s not a good chance that I’ll stop it. I don’t know how many chances he had to bang it in.”
NOTES:
Twenty-four hours after the 2-0 shutout loss to the Capitals, Tortorella was still furious at his top line of Marian Gaborik, Erik Christensen and Vinny Prospal.
The trio only totaled for three shots and two penalty minutes in a combined 53:05 of ice time against the league-leading Caps.
“Honestly, let’s call a spade a spade. Our best players were no-shows. It can’t be happening at this time of year,” Tortorella said in a pre-game press conference.
“They stunk. They’re good people. It can’t be an inconsistent roller coaster. At this time of the year, the top players have to be your best players. They have to be able to do more things than they did last night. When your top players aren’t there, you’re not going to win those type of games.”
Gaborik, who leads the team in goals and points, and is tied for the team lead in assists, has nine goals and 11 assists dating back to December 26.
However, he was inadvertently kicked in the knee by Lundqvist’s skate blade in a February practice and it is believed that he injured his groin during the Olympics.
Tortorella left the decision to play last night up to Gaborik, who took part in the pre-game skate. Gaborik deemed himself fit to play. Left wing Aaron Voros and right wing Enver Lisin were scratched. Gaborik fired four shots in 18:49 last night.
“He can’t play the way he played last night. If he’s not able, in his mind, to get through this, he won’t play. That’s a discussion Gabby and I will have (after) warm-up,” Tortorella said.
“If he is able to work hard and, in his mind, get through this mentally, he will play. If not, he’s not going to play. It’s too many minutes that I would give him that would be wasted if he’s not ready mentally.”
Tortorella broke up the trio before the game, putting Callahan on the top line with Christensen and Prospal. Gaborik was dropped to the third line with Artem Anisimov and Sean Avery. However, he moved Gaborik back to the top unit midway through the first period, while Callahan skated on the All-American second line with Brandon Dubinsky and Chris Drury.
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Last night’s game was a reunion of sorts for Tortorella, Callahan, Drury and Miller. All four were on the silver medal-winning U.S. Olympic Hockey Team.
Miller, the Sabres franchise goaltender, came into the match with a sparkling 31-15-7 record, 2.16 GAA and .931 save percentage in 54 games. His play has earned Buffalo 62 of its 77 points.
He was even better in the Olympics, going 5-1 with a .9456 goals against average.
“After playing with him, (I) have a whole new respect for him and (I) realize he’s one of the top goalies in this league. He is one of the main reasons why I have silver medal,” Callahan said. “His positioning is so good. Even in practice, his angles are good; he’s never out of a play. He reminds me a lot of Hank, moving side-to-side; going shelf, he can stop it. He’s never out of a play.”
Tortorella disagreed with Callahan’s assessment, noting that Miller is a little bit different than Hank. He comes out. He’s aggressive.”
Both believed that in order for the Rangers to be successful, Miller would have to people in front of him.
“If he sees shots, he’s going to stop most them. We need to have traffic and keep him in the blue,” Tortorella said.
Miller received an ovation when he skated onto the Garden ice.
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Callahan and Tortorella also shared diverging viewpoints on what it means to play against fellow U.S. Olympians.
The right wing believes that Team USA “did something special. As the team, how we came together helped us. When you play a guy like this, it’s in the back of your mind that you did something special.”
He also suggested that the Olympic link with Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner will make Wednesday’s game at The Rock “a lot more fun to compete against these guys knowing that you (did something) together. Especially guys (on) Jersey, who we battle with all the time.”
Tortorella’s response was typically blunt. “Not when we’re playing against them,” was his response when asked if he felt a bond with Team USA players.
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It has not been a full week, but Raffi Torres is happy to be a Buffalo Sabre. And the Sabres are pleased that he is in their employ.
The grinding left wing was acquired at the deadline for a second round pick and defenseman Nathan Paetsch.
For an organization that, often due to finances, ends up selling low, the addition is a boost.
“He’s a good player. He brings an element to this team that we haven’t really had. We needed a winger with his style,” Miller said of the left wing that boasts 19 goals, 32 points and 32 penalty minutes in 61 games.
At 34-20-9, the Sabres are third in the East and lead the Northeast Division by two points over Ottawa. Unless the Sabres completely collapse in their final 18 games, playoff hockey should return to Western New York for the first time in three years.
“It’s always fun going back to the playoffs. It’ll be a good test for us. We got a good group,” said Torres, a one-time Islanders prospect. Torres has twice competed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was on the Edmonton Oilers’ 2005-06 Western Conference Championship-winning team, having potted 27 goals in that regular season. Torres skated in 51 games last season for Columbus, which was swept in the first round by Western Conference Champion Detroit.
“It’s good. We’re in contention,” Torres said after the Sabres’ early skate Sunday morning at The Garden, “and (things) don’t look too good in Columbus.”
That is an understatement.
At 25-29-11, the Blue Jackets are 14th in the West—26th overall—with 61 points. That follows a 92 point 2008-09 campaign that saw Columbus reach the playoffs for the first time. Simply, the Blue Jackets did not play up to their potential. That is why head coach Ken Hitchcock was fired on February 3, replaced by assistant Claude Noel. It is why Torres, defensemen Milan Jurcina, Fredrik Modin and Mathieu Roy, and forward Alexandre Picard were sent to Buffalo, Washington, Los Angeles, Florida and Phoenix for three draft picks (a second, a sixth and a seventh), Paetsch, center Chad Kolarik and University of Michigan forward prospect Matt Rust at Wednesday’s Trade Deadline.
“It was kind of weird. We had high expectations for this year. We struggled in our own zone which put pressure on (goaltender Steve Mason) to make saves; he was fighting the puck a little bit earlier this year,” Torres said. “It was a little bit of everything. We were not scoring goals when we needed them. But I think the most part was (that) defensively, we weren’t good.”
As William Shakespeare famously wrote, past is prologue. The left wing is now a Sabre. His 19 goals leads the team, while his 32 points has him tied for fifth with 6’8 rookie defenseman Tyler Myers. Torres, an unrestricted free agent in July, believes he has to “keep it simple” in order to be successful.
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An estimated 115 Rangers fans congregated across the street from the Garden two hours before yesterday’s game to demand the firing of GM Glen Sather.
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During the second intermission, former Rangers Brian Mullen and Nick Fotiu awarded Scarsdale Youth Hockey coach Peter Caputo the Emile Francis Award. In its third year, the award is given to “volunteers” in “youth and amateur hockey.”
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Next Sunday’s home game against Philly is a 3 PM start.
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Denis Gorman
