Bruins5Rangers2The Rangers have been bad other times this season, but never before had they seemed slower, smaller or more helpless than last night against the Bruins.
The final score of the team’s sixth straight winless performance at the Garden was a wholly in-dicative 5-2. Now 0-5-1 at home since an Oct. 17 victory over the expansion Thrashers, the Blueshirts are 3-7-1 this year on Broadway, 31-45-14 since Mark Messier’s Exit from Manhattan. Think of it. In the last three seasons, the Rangers have won 31 of their 90 home games.
No wonder the franchise for the first time in memory is hawking tickets through the media. No wonder that those who do show up and pay the price become disgruntled when the athletes on the ice do not.
Last night, a vocal portion of the crowd chanted, “Fire [John] Muckler,” once the Bruins took a 4-0 lead at 8:19 of the third period. The chant was revived by some of the approximately 7,000 who remained in the building during the final minute of play.
Garden management may indeed take the easy way out and fire the coach. How that will improve the team’s desperate situation at center or the team’s lack of firepower on the wing remains to be seen, but with its team’s record now 6-10-3, management may be tempted to go for the quick fix. Management right now has two choices – pointing the finger at the coach, or at itself for failing to give Muckler a legitimate first-line center and power-play quarterback to replace Wayne Gretzky.
Tim Taylor, who issued an emotional statement of support following Thursday’s 5-4 OT win in Washington, has his own idea about where the responsibility for debacles such as last night’s rests. He again last night suggested that each player look in the mirror and study his own reflection.
“To hear the fans booing, to hear the fans say to fire the coach … they should fire the players,” the center said. “We’re the ones screwing up.
“We have to play with heart. We’re not bringing that to the table every game, every shift. Boston and Ottawa, they play their system. We have the same system and Muck goes over it day in and day out, but we don’t follow it.
“It’s getting sickening; it really is. I’m sick of this. I didn’t come here to lose,” continued Taylor, who left the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent to sign a four-year contract with the Rangers. “I’m getting sick of trying to disguise this team all the time.”
In addition to the habitual problems experienced by both Petr Nedved’s line and the power play unit – the Blueshirts broke their schneid at 0-for-38 and 65:11 of scoreless man-advantage hockey late in the third down 4-0 on Jan Hlavac’s first NHL goal – the Rangers last night broke down for a third straight game in their defensive coverage. It sure didn’t help matters that Mike Richter had his first tepid performance of the year, either.
“Each game is a different scenario unto itself,” said Brian Leetch, who chose otherwise to mostly bite his tongue after himself turning in nothing more than a lukewarm performance.
The game was scoreless midway through the first when Jonathan Girard shook Darren Langdon and pounced on a juicy rebound to beat Richter at 11:04. By 17:09, it was 3-0, meaning that going back to the third period of Wednesday’s collapse against the Senators, the Rangers had been outscored 6-0 in their last 32:13 at home. It was 3-0, meaning that the game was over against a much more physically talented team as the Bruins, one that drops back into a strict trap with the lead. No contest.
“It seems like we’ve hit rock-bottom four or five times this year,” said Mathieu Schneider. “We have to start from scratch again.”
Without Valeri Kamensky, healthy only for the season-opener, without a big-time pivot, the Rangers are forced to scrap for garbage goals around the net. They don’t get there to scrap, they don’t collect the garbage. Adam Graves, who scored 38 goals last year, has three so far, one at even-strength. John MacLean, who had 28 last year, has none. No wonder Muckler was so eagerly anticipating the addition of Joe Murphy, whom he had penciled in as his first-line right wing.
(Meanwhile, Boston GM Harry Sinden said last night that it was Murphy who himself who initiated contact with the Bruins, calling the team on Wednesday. One Ranger said that Murphy had become very, very restless by mid-week and feared a low-ball by GM Neil Smith. Murphy, of course, signed with the Bruins on Friday after working at Rye for four days.)
But there is no Murphy. Only Murphy’s Law. Which says that management can either point the finger at the coach, or at itself.