The week following the all-star game marks the start of serious playoff talk in the NHL. Yet, no one will be talking about the New York Rangers. The Rangers are 22-29-4 with one overtime loss on the year. Their 49 points are ten behind the Boston Bruins for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern conference playoffs with 26 games remaining. Ten points would certainly not be insurmountable if New York was playing well and the Bruins poorly. Unfortunately for New York fans, the inexperienced Bruins are showing newfound vigor under coach Mike Keenan while Ron Low's Rangers look old and confused.
The Rangers began their season solidly enough, winning 14 of their first 25 games. Coach Low may even have believed he had inherited a team ready for revival. The Rangers were fast on their skates and scoring a large number of goals per game. Goalie Mike Richter was soon to be healthy soon and veterans Brian Leetch and Theo Fleury looked as good as ever. Plus Mark Messier was back. The Rangers even had the league's best power play through their first 34 games.
Despite their early success, it did not take Ron Low long to realize that the Rangers winning ways were only temporary. The Rangers do not play defense. Even while they were winning, their defense was atrocious, and they relied on defeating opponents in shootouts rather then concentrating on improving their defensive inadequacies. Now it is almost certainly too late to rectify the problem.
The Rangers are an old team, and their quick start was in large part due to the fact that their old legs were fresh. Now that weariness has set in, the Rangers veteran scorers can no longer account for four or five goals a game, and the team lacks the physical conditioning and experience to begin winning low scoring games. The Rangers rank last in the NHL in goals against average. The team has also compiled a 6-11-3-0 record over their last 20 games and at one point this season had a nineteen-game stretch in which they went 3-13-2-1. Frustration has begun to set in.
Ron Low lost patience with his players following last Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in which the Rangers were embarrassed in nearly every aspect of the sport. The following day Low held a 90-minute practice in which he did not cease screaming at his players on the ice. Low even reminded his team that last year's general manager and coach (Neil Smith and John Muckler) had taken the blame for the team's poor season and been fired. He shouted, "Who are you going to blame now?" at his squad full of overpriced veterans.
The team responded with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers last Friday and a 1-1 tie against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. The tie could be viewed as a victory of sorts considering New York has not defeated New Jersey since 1997. The Rangers are 0-14-8 versus the defending champions over the past four years.
Despite the two respectable games since Low's tirade, the Rangers still have a long, long way to go. They registered only one shot, going 0-6 on the power play Sunday. They only have six power play goals in their last 27 games, and their lone goal Sunday came from their lone star this season, as Theo Fleury netted his 30th of the year.
The Rangers are not without hope for the future; they do have Fleury and a talented young nucleus to build a contender around. Ranger management needs to swallow its pride and begin the rebuilding process around Fleury and young talents such as Manny Malhotra. The young skaters just need ice time. Yet as the NHL's trade deadline draws near, the Rangers will have a difficult time unloading their expensive veterans. Rumors are circulating that GM Glen Sather will try to trade goalie Mike Richter and forward Petr Nedved. Ranger fans can only hope that he does so, and that the Rangers receive promising young talent in return.
If they continue to try to win now instead of dumping their veterans while they still have some value, the Rangers will become the Baltimore Orioles of hockey, and struggle for years to come. But if they are able to add a few more youthful skaters to the mix and are farsighted enough to allow the youth they have to gain some experience this season, the New York Rangers will have an excellent shot at the playoffs in 2002.