I was going to give this one some time but as a fan who is feeling a lot of pain and frustration most fans are feeling, I figured I just need to get on with it. I’m going to do my best to be rational here and not let the rage get the best of my thought process but it isn’t going to be easy. This season was an absolute failure for the New York Rangers. Coming off a run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the entire purpose of this season was to get back there and fight like hell for that trophy. Yet here we are, the last of the first round exits, completely underachieving this season leading to a million different thoughts and questions. I didn’t write before or after games six and seven because I’m a superstitious psycho so real quick before getting into a look at what’s next, I’ll run through how we got here.
Game 6: Rangers Play the Comeback Once Again
There was no question about this one, win or go home. The Rangers are a team who have been in this situation far too many times in recent history so while there were nerves, it was relatively realistic to have some confidence. Again, not off to the best of starts and that got to a peak when Curtis Lazar put the Devils on the board just about halfway through the first. In the final minute of the first, the Rangers finally got their power play going again which was desperately needed. Chris Kreider redirected a Zibanejad one timer to tie the game up and from that moment on, it was all New York.
Mika scored halfway through the second off a nice pass from Kreider, Tarasenko made it 3-1 towards the end of the period and Goodrow and Schneider both chimed in throughout the third to really take this one from the Devils. Dawson Mercer showed signs of life for the Devils but it was too little too late, the Rangers took game six and would force the series back to Newark for Game 7. It was a team effort, everyone stepped up, mostly everyone looked good, there was no reason for the Rangers to not have some confidence going into that seventh game as we all know, they’ve been there before.
It’s Over.
Playoff hockey. While often wildly unpredictable, some things are always a fact and in this case, it’s special teams and top players being top players. The Rangers failed at both of those things which ultimately led to their demise. Not to mention, they did not get off to a strong start. I don’t want to toot the Devils horn any more than I have to but they knew how to play this Rangers team. If they took away the slot, limited the Rangers time spent in their zone and took them to the races, they were going to win and that’s exactly what they did. And not for nothing, the officials gave the Rangers every opportunity, especially in that first period to take control of this game and they didn’t. Three penalties to the Devils throughout the first twenty… THREE. That’s six minutes (give or take because of the Fox penalty) of man advantage time, and nothing. The Rangers learned that hard way in this series that if their special teams aren’t there, they’re not going to get there.
While in the moment, I’d refuse to admit it, the fact that they did not convert on any of those power plays pretty much decided the game right then and there. Frankly, the Rangers were lucky to get out of that third scoreless. They had to be better as the game went on and they weren’t. K’Andre Miller would get called for high sticking Timo Meier about eight minutes into the period. The Rangers killed it off and not long after, Jesper Bratt was sent off for tripping Barclay Goodrow and unfortunately the game would be decided on that power play. Again, the Rangers, HAD TO find a way to capitalize on the man advantage, especially on this one where you’re halfway through a still scoreless game. Instead, they can’t keep it in the zone, Adam Fox uncharacteristically turns the puck over and Michael McLeod scores a shorthanded goal. 1-0 Devils.
I mean, that just can’t happen. Putting aside the fact that the Rangers not being able to score on the power play was a massive issue, now you’re going to let the opposing team score?? Shorthanded??? That’s unacceptable in every sense of the word. This had to be a wake up call for New York and it wasn’t Tomas Tatar found the back of the net closer to the end of the period. The Rangers had a better start in the third, still couldn’t do anything. Erik Haula scores, Gallant pulls Shesterkin, Rangers can’t do it, Jesper Bratt scores on the empty net, a season wasted and it’s over.
So what now? Obviously there’s a lot to talk about and at the time that I’m writing this, which is barely even 10 hours after the game ended, I’m not even sure of what to say. The fact of the matter is, the stars of this team didn’t show up. They didn’t show up when the Rangers had the chance to take a 3-0 lead on the series, they didn’t show up when the series was tied, they didn’t show up at all when it mattered aside from Game 6. As I said before, the Devils knew how to match up with this Rangers team and that became the difference maker. They kept the Rangers out of the slot, they limited their chances, they found ways to slow down their power play, they worked for this victory. One thing I want to make abundantly clear, Akira Schmidt is a fine goaltender. He did not, for one second, outplay Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers did not test him. He made a couple of big saves in Game 7 and obviously two shutouts tells somewhat of a story but the Rangers did not test him and despite the results, Igor Shesterkin was far and away the best player, to the point where he was doing more than just making saves. That being said, Schmidt did what he needed to for the Devils.
Regarding the rest of this group, Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane were not good let alone good enough. Panarin was an absolute non factor through seven games and Patrick Kane is useless without the puck. Even then, he was nowhere near effective enough. There’s going to be a lot of conversations about what this team needs to do to come but I want it on record that Patrick Kane needs to go far, far away from this Rangers team. Was he a complete non factor in the playoffs? No, he had some moments, he put up points and I’m sure he even tried really hard. However the man is pushing forward, has a bad hip, everything about who he was is no longer the case. He is not the “showtime” guy that is going to lead this team to glory, move on. I have no real proof of this, the Rangers don’t really show a ton of what goes on behind the scenes, but I can’t help but get the impression that the vibes within this group were different when Kane got here. Sure, Panarin loves him and the kids looked up to him but it didn’t work. Move on.
Which brings me to the next big culprit, Mr. Moneybags, Mr. Nokia Phone Panarin. Look, I love the guy, I was elated when the Rangers signed him. I love how he’s become a star in New York, he’s everything you want in a star player. Although what do star players do? They’re supposed to shine bright when it matters most and he hasn’t done that. There’s going to be so much discourse regarding him throughout the off-season and I know everyone is desperate for answers right now but he’s not going anywhere. He’s under contract forever, on a no move clause, so don’t even waste time thinking about how the Rangers could trade him. That being said, Panarin really needs to do some self reflection in the off-season. I’m not suggesting that there are any particular issues with him as a player or a person but there are a couple of things that are poking around my brain in regards to his role with the team.
The obvious is that he needs to show up in the big moments. It’s worth reminding fans he had almost 100 points in the regular season and is a huge part of how we got here, but none of that matters if you can’t do anything in the playoffs. I want to preface this next point by saying I can never even begin to imagine what it’s like moving to a new country let alone moving to a new country and having to be a face of its most iconic city. I can’t even imagine trying to speak in a language I’m not comfortable in to anybody let alone the New York media. However, you’re making almost 12 million a year, you are one of the faces of the New York freaking Rangers. “No English” is not an excuse for holding yourself accountable. You want to do the interview through an interpreter? Fine. You have to show some accountability and the time for that is now.
Look at Kreider last night. Chris Kreider was one of the few shining moments of these playoffs as he seems to be aging like fine wine, continuing to be a huge factor for this team, breaking records leading the charge. Yet this man is arguably holding himself too accountable, beating himself up in the post game last night basically saying that this was on him he should have been better so on and so forth. I know it’s still fresh and I’m sure Panarin will speak with the media on breakup day but little things like that where you see Kreider talking like that and you hear the defeat in Mika’s voice but you don’t hear anything from the guy who needs to have an answer the most. Which is a good transition into our next topic here, Gerry G.
The biggest question for this Rangers team this off-season is what do you do from here? You’re locked in with this group, this was supposed to be the year, what now? The focus is going to turn to the Rangers coaching staff, specifically, Gerard Gallant. To be honest, I’m pretty indifferent to the whole situation. There are times I like Gallant and from everything we’ve heard about the guy, players tend to love him. Alas after a first round exit, you have to ask the question of whether or not he is the guy here. Should he be fired? I really don’t know. At the end of the day, we lost this series because our top players didn’t show up. Gallant can’t strap on the skates and go out there and win this thing for them. At the same time though, he needs to get more out of this group and I would like to see more fire from him. He has a very “it is what it is” demeanor and he really didn’t provide good enough insight in his post game presser. We’ll see where that story goes and I’m sure I’ll have more regarding the matter as we get more into the off-season.
As for the rest of this group, I don’t know what to say. I would have liked to see Lafreniere, Miller, Kakko and Chytil get to another level and step up when this team needed it but they didn’t really do that. The fourth line had moments, but wasn’t good enough from the jump. There are going to be holes in this lineup if all the pending UFA’s walk and at this point, I’m unsure if any of them really should be back. The St. Louis duo of Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola are both worth consideration for extensions but the salary cap is clearly not a friend to the Rangers. Mikkola really had a solid postseason and was good for the Rangers down the stretch, I wouldn’t mind it if the Rangers brought him back on a respectable contract. Tarasenko should absolutely earn an extension over Kane but again, money is an issue. If the stars align, they will but if not, the Rangers need their young stars to take the reins here. If Alexis Lafreniere is unable to play the ride side he probably shouldn’t be in the NHL. Force him into the top-six.
I think I’m going to wrap it up there. There will be plenty of time moving forward to look into more answers regarding how this team can and should move forward so I’ll refrain from getting too into anything. The Rangers have a couple of restricted free agents that they need to get on an extension, including Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller. That will be the focus going into the early parts of the off-season and hopefully their lack of a presence in the postseason will work in Drury’s favor when negotiating salary. The Rangers are going to need every penny to put a team anywhere close to this caliber together for opening night. Ugh. This sucks. There’s no other way to put it.
This wasn’t supposed to be how it went down after how close we got last season. This season was quite a ride and one of the most skilled Rangers teams probably of all time. It’s impossible to feel anything other than disappointment right now but at the end of the day, there’s no other team I’d want to drive myself crazy over. Despite it all, I couldn’t be more proud to be a New York Rangers fan. It’s been a wild year, easily the most games I’ve ever been to in a season and for that alone, I’ll always remember and appreciate this season but man, I hope the taste in the Rangers players’ mouths is just as bitter as it is in mine. There’s something here, the skill is there, there’s work to be done but I’ll never give up hope for this team. You have to learn to lose before you can learn to win. We thought that’s what last season was for but perhaps they needed a little extra dose of reality to get there. Hang in there Blueshirt Faithful.
If you’re reading this or have read anything I’ve written about this team throughout the year, I truly appreciate the support. I love this team, so freaking much. The Rangers and this sport are so much of who I am and while it grows more and more painful each year we don’t get to where we want to be, I’ll always believe in this team. One way or another, we’ll get there. Believe it.
Much love Rangers fam,
Chris Feldman
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