Rangers: Is it Time to Fret?
Stan Fischler analyzes the Rangers' loss to Montreal
Posted on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 10:45 PM"What? Me worry?"
That deathless quote came from none other than Mad Magazine's preeminent nutcase, Alfred E. Newman.
Alfred E. may be history, but his commentary now applies to the Rangers as they prepare for the Coyotes' visit on Monday night to The Garden.
Yes, there is concern now that the Blueshirts have lost their third straight, albeit in overtime on Saturday night in Montreal.
The good news – yes, there's inevitably cause for a half-smile – is that John Tortorella's skaters escaped with at least one point.
That, however, ranks as a half-baked victory, considering the circumstances that preceded the final red light, ignited late in the OT by Mike Cammalleri.
- BLOWN LEADS: Twice the visitors boasted a two-goal lead (3-1, 4-2) and frittered them away.
- HENRIK LUNDQVIST FAILS LATE IN THE GAME: Against the Devils, he allowed a stoppable goal – the winner – from Dainius Zubrus who hadn't tallied all season. It happened with the tilt tied 2-2 in the third.
And it happened again against the Habs on Cammalleri's shot which sailed over Henny's shoulder.
As Butch Goring pointed out on "Hockey Night Live," Lundqvist's weakness is falling to his eyes. Sharpshooters such as Cammalleri are wise to it and capitalize.
"That's the way you beat Henrik," noted Goring.
But it was more than Lundqvist's fault.
And give credit to the Habs' Cammalleri, one of the league's few Jewish players. (Yes, the name is deceptive; his dad is Italian.) Montreal's high-priced acquisition made his salary look good with a hat trick.
By contrast, Tortorella hardly masked his disgust with a pair of his forwards, Brandon Dubinsky, guilty of a significant defensive blunder and Chris (Still Scoreless) Higgins, whose critical penalty was no less damaging.
"The turnover (by Dubinsky) can't happen," asserted the coach. "It caused a huge momentum swing. He (Dubie) will lose his (playing) time. And Higgie puts us down five-on-three. I say if they're not going to help the team offensively, they had better do it defensively. And there has to be consequences. I'm going to go with players who do things to help."
Thus, it will be most interesting to see who plays – and for how long – against the Coyotes.
"The defense has to tighten up," added HNL's Ron Duguay, "and I expect that it will."
Don't expect the Coyotes to make it any easier on Lundqvist – assuming that Torts starts him on Monday – because they no longer are the NHL's patsies, no matter what has happened with the league-run franchise over the past few months.
Phoenix has been getting superlative goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov who helped the ‘Yotes to jump off to a 5-2 start.
"I've been getting support from every guy on the team," Bryzgalov insisted. "They battle and that makes my job a lot easier."
Team defense also has helped Phoenix along with veteran coach Dave Tippett who replaced Wayne Gretzky when The Great One exited Stage Left during training camp, never directing a single practice.
Another unsung hero has been Dave Maloney's kid brother, Don, the Coyotes general manager, who obtained low-priced worthies such as Robert Lang, Taylor Pyatt, Vernon Fiddler and onetime MSG favorite, Petr Prucha.
Plus, veteran Ed Jovanovski has surfaced as a genuine leader and pillar on defense.
But let's not get too carried away either with the visitors from Arizona or the Rangers current slump.
All things considered, the New Yorkers remain in a rather comfortable position.
However, a loss on Monday night might inspire an answer to Alfred E. Newman's "What? Me worry?"
Then the answer would have to be in the affirmative.
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