Through the Rangers first 9 periods of hockey, I felt the defenseman and the goalie, for the most part, were the best players on the ice. Tonight though, the forwards are just flying, and our defense looks very pedestrian.
It starts with Marek Malik, who was beyond hideous in that period. He showcased his lack of footspeed, and his horrendous decision making process, and somehow will still end up being a +6 for the game. Michael Rozsival was only marginally better. Though he scored a goal, he has been out of position a lot, and he too has been turning the puck over. Finally Paul Mara was single handedly responsible for the goal against, completely missing his assignment on Ovechkin who undressed him like a 2 dollar hooker.
The forwards however are playing great hockey, and don’t think its just because of the powerplays, no, they are drawing those penalties through sustained forechecks, and hustle.
Also, I just wanted to note one thing regarding Marcel Hossa. Man oh man is the kid having a heckuva game or what?! Never separate him and Jagr, they just own the boards.
I like what I have seen of each of the 3 parts of our team, now they just need to tie all of them together to unleash their inner juggernaut.
-Inferno
