We played very very well for the bulk of that period, but it really frightens me. Why? Because we played the Penguins game. I saw way too much up and down hockey for my taste. The Penguins got quite a few very high quality chances off the rush, and while that is bound to happen with a team that plays the style of hockey they do, you need to minimize it to 8 or 9 a game tops (high quality chances off the rush that is). They got at least half that amount in the first period alone. Rangers need to tighten up, and the defenseman need to stay back a bit more. I saw Malik, Backman, and Staal all go deep as a 4th man in during the first, without any recognition of who the opponent is. You do not, I repeat, do not send 4 men deep against the Penguins. You can still utilize the defenseman by passing it back to the point for shots, but you don’t want to have only 1 person back to defend against the rush with that many highly skilled fast players on the ice. It is suicide.
It might as well be 0-0 at this point, because 2-0 means nothing at all against these guys.
