Trust me, I was jumping around like a fool just like the rest of you. I too was doing a fist pump when Drury scored his, as usual, game winning goal. However, as the 3rd period went on I really started to get nervous. Not because I thought for even a moment that Florida would come back, but rather, because the Rangers were able to turn it on, at will, for 20 minutes, and pick up a win.
We saw it with another superpowered new york team just a few days ago. A team so powerful that they could just sleep through 8 innings, and turn it on in the 9th to win it….except they didn’t. Look, I’m not a met fan, and I dont want to blow this out of proportion, all I am saying is, just beware. The players need to recognize that it will take a consistent 60 minute effort and a consistent 60 minute display of “smart” hockey to beat the non floridas of the NHL. The Panthers are a decent team, but we should beat them, easily, so the fact that we struggled mightily for about 30 minutes during this game, and were only “in it” because of one Henrik Lundqvist, should be worrisome.
What shouldn’t be worrisome is the offensive ability of this team. They can score goals, and can do it from all over the ice. You saw a defenseman put in a puck, you saw the 3rd line with 2 HUGE goals, and you saw the Jagr line basically dominate every second they were on the ice in the 3rd. The 2nd line actually had a really good game as well, with Avery missing a glorious chance with a puck shot 3 feet wide. Avery should have netted that one, and Gomez should have had his first point as a Ranger.
Either way, it’s not about the individuals, it’s about the team, and as a team, in the 3rd, the Rangers played like Stanley Cup Champions. After the first 10 minutes of the first, and throughout the 2nd, they played like an ECHL team.
Let’s hope we see a more consistent effort throughout, and chalk those 30 minutes to growing pains of youth, and a lack of chemistry.
-Inferno
