After watching this video you learn a few things…
1. The Devils are a significantly more together team.
2. Martin Brodeur is the best goaltender on the planet.
3. The Rangers without Henrik Lundqvist would be down 10 goals in every game.
4. Joe Avery is a piece of garbage.
5. There’s a reason why the Devils have won as many cups in 10 years as the Rangers have won in 65.
I don’t think it’s hopeless for the Rangers, though. Seriously. There are some bright spots on the team. Lundqvist is shaping up to be the best goaltender in the league somewhere in the future. Martin Straka is just fantastic and has a way of being everywhere on the ice (almost as if by magic). Petr Prucha is very good, and Hossa was exciting to watch. Jan Ortmeyer is good and Colton Orr has a big future, I’m sure.
Jagr is useless. Shanahan might be the best player overall, but he’s a hundred years old at this point.
Now the question is… Why can’t this team get some winning going?
Despite all the talent, that team seriously lacks leadership both on the bench and on the ice. There’s no Messier type to get them motivated and it really shows when they lose a game like this one that they controlled. The difference is that the Devils have tons of leadership, starting with the guy in the net, Martin Brodeur.
How far do you think the Rangers will try to ride the Lundqvist train before they realize it has to stop at a station and it might not be a bad idea to get a few other trains to make the trip easier?
Thursday night these two teams meet again at Madison Square Garden. Should be interesting to see how the Rangers rebound from this slap in the face loss, particularly when they’re a few points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
[tags]rangers, devils, hockey, nhl[/tags]