I guess it's all my fault. I went to my first game of the year and believed it would be a classic. Montreal, tops in the Atlantic versus Rangers, tops in the Metro. Original Six meeting. Packed house with plenty of Canadien fans in attendance. Everyone showed up except the Rangers. The Canadiens are contenders, the Rangers, pretenders.
Then the big bad Bruins. For the first time in ages the Rangers blew a third period lead. Then back to the Garden for a real stinker against the Flyers. Another no show by our guys. Thank goodness the Hurricanes showed up, but it wasn't easy. We turned a 4-1 lead into a 4-3 nail biter win. And then a bummer against the Avalanche, a 2-1 loss. Funny, before the game the homer boys were telling us how bad the goaltending for Colorado was. The goalie, Varlamov, was 49.5 seconds from a shutout
So the Rangers are 1-4-1 in the last six and the worst part is that they show no signs of life. They are listless. They come out in the first period of almost every game flat. They are also leaderless. Besides Lundqvist there is no one to pick up the team. Oscar Lindberg, who scored his 10th goal of the year, tied for rookie scoring, is a rookie who is doing very well. Who else? Nash? Brassard? McDonagh? Kreider? Where are they.
Kreider baffles me. When I attend a game I usually pick a player and watch him when he is on ice. Against Montreal I picked Kreider. There was an instance in the third period where he skated a 360 a couple times as if he was looking for his bearings. Krash looked lost. The Rangers look lost. They are sinking and there is no end in sight. The good news is the season is still young and thanks to their early season success the Rangers are tied with the Caps and are 17-7-3. The team needs to wake up. Where is the coach?
ICINGS: The T/Birds seem to be following the Rangers. In a battle for 4th, 5th place, the T/Birds wre beaten by Sachem 7-3. Maybe the boys are spending too much time watching the Rangers.
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I wonder if we haven't seen this movie before in past years? Where they go into a sudden funk (especially around a major holiday) and just go through the motions for a while, and then when everything starts to get all angst-inducing, and the "trade" word gets mentioned by management or scouts even start to appear, then folks suddenly rediscover their games and go on another win streak tear? Or is that just my imagination running away with me.
Still, Kreider, this is one player one doesn't want to see lost and disengaged. He still has things to prove, and some fans have far more questions about him than I do, but right now he's making his fans, the Kreier advocates look like chimps, and we don't appreciate it. C'mon Chris, get it together with your fast physical intuitive game, in-front-of-net play. Or tell someone what's up so you can get coaching assistance or other help.
McPhilly-Except for one year, its been a 75 year funk.