Rangers Recap 4/8/17 – Rangers at Senators

Christina Drury Updated: Apr 8, 2017

In their next to last game of the year, the Rangers failed to impress yet again. While key players including Zuccarello, Nash, Fast and McDonagh sat out in favor of resting up for the playoffs, the rest of the team flailed miserably. The Senators dominated the puck for the majority of the game, while players such as Klein and Zibanejad caused some mind-boggling turnovers in the neutral and defensive zone.

For the most part the play was sloppy and lazy, though with nothing on the line, I guess this is to be expected. The Blueshirts have already secured the #1 Wildcard spot, and a first-round bid with the Canadiens, so the main goal of the game was to avoid any injury and strenuous play. While a win would’ve been nice (and inspiring for us couch watchers), it wasn’t a must and the team’s play certainly reflected this. I’d rather them save up their energy for the real work, which begins next Wednesday.

The Good Points (Yes, There Were Some)

As with any game, I’m not surprised to see a fair amount of people blaming Lundqvist for the loss. Yes, he has been a bit off this year, in terms of his stats. At the same time, though, we really do need to place the blame where it belongs which is on the piss poor coverage in front of the net. And, just how many goals are we expecting him to score to help the team win?

Today, however, he had some highlight-worthy saves and I dare say that none of the goals that hit the net were soft. He came up big when he needed to, and the score could’ve been a lot different had he been off his game.

Another good point is that they narrowly avoided shutout #2 after a 2-0 game against the Washington Capitals. In the final minutes, Zibanejad managed to score against his former team after receiving a standing ovation early on.

Tanner Glass in the lineup usually means we’ll see a fight and today was no different.

Tanner Glass fight period 1. #nyr #nyronmsg pic.twitter.com/w4yvFLMjmI

— BlueShirtsNation.com  (@NYRangerFanclub) April 8, 2017

Playoff Run Predictions: One of two things needs to happen for the Rangers to have a decent playoff run: the defense needs to find its bearings (doubtful) or the offense needs to score more goals than their opponents. Right now, the offense isn’t scoring and the defense is just pitiful, so will we see the team advance past Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? I’m keeping faith, but if nothing changes, it will be a repeat of last year and an early trip to the golf course.

Be sure to check back, as Zak will have more coverage on the playoff predictions in the coming days!