It may have been pride night at the Garden but there was very little pride on that ice following what happened in the second period. Before we get into that however, let's get up to speed on how the game was going up to that point. The puck dropped and the game started out as expected, slow and the Capitals striking first. Nic Dowd scored on a shot Sheshterkin would certainly wish he could have back. About five minutes later Conor Sheary would strike to give the Caps a 2-0 lead. The Rangers finally started to pick it up with a couple good shifts and with two minutes to go in the first, Mika Zibanejad put one in to cut the lead in half.
To the second we go and for a minute, things started to look a lot better. The Rangers got a couple early power play chances and Mika found the back of the net again to tie the game up at two. Just two minutes after that morale was at an all time high for players and fans alike. A BEAUTIFUL 2-on-1 passing play between Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko proved just how dominant this team is going to be for the next decade. So much talent, so much skill, this team is going to be SCARY good. Then this happened..
Following a Rangers scoring chance, Tom Wilson took it upon himself to push his stick against the back of Buchnevich's neck, pushing him into the ice and if that wasn't enough, sucker punched him in the back of the head. This is absolutely INEXCUSABLE. I am ALL for fighting and the physical aspect of the game but the SECOND you start throwing around cheap shots like that? All the class and respect of the game goes out the window and you end up looking like an absolute buffoon, as Tom Wilson did, standing in the penalty box, jersey off, shit grin smile on. Naturally, chaos ensued following that and of course because we were on the power play Artemi Panarin was the one who had to answer the bell with one of the leagues dirties players.
This would result in Panarin missing the rest of the game with what was labeled a lower body injury, the icing on the repulsive cake of the situation. I'm sorry but if the league doesn't step in and do something about Tom Wilson they should be absolutely ashamed. Tom Wilson is not a clean player, he plays with zero respect and with cheap shots like that it's only a matter of time before it goes too far and someones career comes to an end as a result. The first thing that came to my mind watching that play unfold was the Todd Bertuzzi Steve Moore incident from the early 2000s. Steve Moore's career was ended in a very similar play. Sure, Bertuzzi's punch was more obvious intent to injure as it came at center ice with the puck not even there. However Tom Wilson essentially did the same thing, throwing an unsuspecting punch to the back of Buchnevich's head/neck all the while pushing his stick into the back of his neck.
There's no sense in comparing two classless scenarios but I reiterate, if they league doesn't do something, they should be embarrassed. The fact that all Tom Wilson got was a ten minute misconduct is embarrassing enough. What's more embarrassing is we didn't do a thing about it and more importantly, let that completely alter the flow of the game. Garnet Hathaway would score to tie the game late in the third, Daniel Sprong scored early in the third, Nicklas Backstrom scored halfway through and of course, OF COURSE Tom Wilson scored on the empty net to put this game away, Caps win 6-3 without Ovechkin, Oshie, Kuznetsov and Samsonov.
Listen, for all the analytic heroes who think that we don't need tough guys on our side or that dirty plays are going to happen as long as dirty players are in the league, that having tough guys fight back isn't going to change what happens. Really think about it, sure it's unfortunate when this stuff happens and I agree, as long as there are dirty players dirty hits are going to happen. It is also unfortunate that this happened on the power play and Panarin was the one who had to answer the bell and that probably wouldn't have changed if we had a tough guy or could've resulted in additional penalty minutes for us. However after you add all that up, bottom line is this team looked DEMORALIZED on the ice for the rest of the game. As soon as the Caps scored it might as well have been game over.
And believe me, I get it. It's still technically a rebuild year and we have so much young talent that I'm glad is getting the ice time they deserve. However, next season? Our fourth line needs a MAJOR redo. We need veteran, gritty players who are willing to drop the gloves when the team needs a spark or to go after a guy like Wilson in a scenario such as last night. Again, I'm sorry but that can't just fly. I'm not saying we need to go out of our way to retaliate and risk taking stupid penalties but when the seasons over and that kind of thing goes down, what the absolute hell do you have to lose? Drop the gloves, lay him out with a hit, if the league isn't going to do anything you need to make a statement that his nonsense is not going to fly when playing the New York Rangers.
It's time people realize that the role of the enforcer/tough guy hasn't been totally phased out. It has however changed as the game has. Hockey is a faster, more skilled game now, which means yes, you can't make it to the show by simply being a goon and sure maybe fighting isn't as common as it used to be. However fighting will ALWAYS be a part of hockey (hopefully) and with that comes guys that will drop the gloves. I'll keep using the Islanders as an example because they are the perfect example. Their fourth line consists of guys like Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin who not only can and will fight, but are strong and solid at both ends of the ice. THIS IS WHAT THE RANGERS NEED FOR NEXT SEASON. You want one younger skilled guy on there? Fine, Julein Gauthier it is, it'll be tough for him to crack the top 9 anyway. However sign a guy like Matt Martin, get a traditional fourth line center like Brian Boyle who can win face offs, kill penalties, play both ends of the ice, fight and bring a strong physical presence to fill out the fourth line. I love Blackwell's game and Kevin Rooney's been a nice surprise too but we need more physicality from guys in their role.
The Rangers are officially eliminated from playoffs as the Bruins won and we lost. Artemi Panarin is already rumored to miss the final three games of the season. If I'm the New York Rangers, I'm calling up Mason Geertsen, starting him against the Caps and at the very least gain some self respect back. These last three games have been absolutely atrocious, sure we're missing half of our core guys but the lack of effort and passion is inexcusable. We're not making playoffs, we know the future's bright, time to play for the crest on your jersey, play for each other and end the season on a high rally note.
Chris Feldman
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