Since when does the opposing team get to CHOOSE if they want to be down two men or a 4 min 5 on 4?? The refs continue to make **** up as they go. Unreal.
Awful start. Looked better in the 2nd and 3rd. Biron needs to work on that whole 5 hole thing. Regroup, beat the Jackets Sunday, and then move on to the division games
It could have been a lot worse. They could have actually tied/won that.
If not for that abortion of a first 10 minutes, it would have been a win no problem.
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"I used to pray for good things . I used to ask the Hockey Gods for puck luck for the NYR .
Now all I want is Torts the smug stupid goatee clown to be fired , . I hate Torts . Please hockey gods make him get fired. Please Sean punch him in face" -- Dorado
I love biron but 2 of those goals were softies. I was against him in net since i found out today. Yet we could have easily tied this game if the pp wasnt 0-7 and rupp didnt miss the empty net.
I really don't care how many people wanna blame the defense in the 1st or Biron in the 1st for that matter, there is only one thing that lost this game...
The Powerplay (or lack thereof)
Great teams go down 4-0 and have the ability to come back. The Rangers had SEVEN count them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7....chances to come back. Their anemic PP didn't score one goal...hell...they didn't have one quality chance on the PP.
At least they bounced back in a positive way and IMO outplayed the hawks for the remainder of the game. The beginning was a bit of a stinker, but people are way too fickle with the players who are aren't our top players. We can't have the WHOLE team full of superstars right? This was a pretty good loss in my book. Learn from it and move on.
Guys, Hank is the best 1 on 1 goalie in the league. Yes, he would stop some of those breakaways, and that Toews goal (he can actually close his 5 hole)
That being said, he's probably really tired after playing 3 in 4. But FFS, Hank saves that PS, and the gate isn't open.
Well, at least the score ended up looking respectable.
However, I have a hard time giving props to the Rangers for showing up after the game is out of reach. Torts specifically emphasized that the Rangers needed to have a strong start to the game because Chicago is a desperate team and the Rangers totally failed in that aspect. In fact, they probably had their worst first period of the season.
Even in last two periods, the Rangers looked a little off. Chicago was letting them hang around and the Rangers were inept offensively, flailing around on the PP, refusing to shoot, and being indecisive.
I'm perfectly fine with dropping a game now and again if it means that Hank is fully rested for the playoffs. Home ice advantage is a great thing to have, but President's Trophy winners are 7 - 19 in the Stanley Cup finals.
I swear we could be 54-0, this being our first loss, and the naysayers and complainers would come out of the woodwork to find something to complain about.
People will always find something, or someone, to ***** about. We had a bad period but played well the rest of the game. Biron had 3 breakaways and the defense was porous, its his fault. The entire team sucked offensively yet it's Richards' fault.
It was a blip in the radar. They didn't come out prepared but they bounced back nicely. Just step away from the ledge and put things in perspective. We're still 8 points ahead of Philly and they only have one game in hand. You can't win them all.