Who Are The Rangers?

The Rangers are 17 games into the '08-'09 season and their identity has yet to be cemented. Are they the complete 60 plus minute effort displayed in their gritty, cardiac comeback against the Penguins? Or, are they the lazy, offensively incompetent group that conceded 2 shorthand goals to the Islanders at home? If there is one single characteristic displayed by all championship teams it is consistency. The same determined effort night in and night out. Championship teams will make mistakes, have off nights, and occasionally be outplayed - but they consistently give a three period effort and always stick to what makes them good. There is a constant game plan, focused on team strengths, that is followed to the letter from the preseason to the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings even celebrated their victory that way, with the Cup starting out in the hands of Lidstrom, the defensive soul of the team, and methodically moving to the forwards - just like the puck did, consistently, for 82 regular season games and a solid playoff run.  

The Rangers are talented, they are young, they are exciting, and they are incredibly inconsistent. In my opinion, it comes from the coaching staff. The same staff that has yet to solve the Power Play problems and continually tampers with line configurations and minute distribution. When Chris Drury finally comes alive with a hat trick and starts to look like the lifetime winner he has been, it is a sign to KEEP THE LINE TOGETHER. How hard is it for Renny to see that a creative winger like Zherdev meshes perfectly with the right place, right time Chris Drury? How trying is it to figure out that a quick, energetic Scott Gomez works well with Marcus Naslund or Aaron Voros? It's like clock work - The Rangers come out and play sixty good minutes one way and 48 hours and a few cities later they are figuring out how to play 60 more minutes in a completely different fashion.

I'm not a hockey coach. I'm nothing more that a passionate fan who enjoys what has become a forgotten game. I am, however, smart enough to see the chinks in the Blueshirts armor. First, show me who you are. Are you a disciplined defensive juggernaut built to ride teams out of a seven game series? If so than stop taking lazy offensive zone penalties, stop pinching defensemen to make up for a terrible lack of offensive zone presence, and eliminate opposing teams 1st line firepower. Or are you instead a loose, fun loving team who utilizes youthful talent and veteran leadership to play an end to end game of exciting hockey? If this is the case, then leave the lines alone! Generate some continuity among teammates, allow them to learn each other's styles and anticipate movements. And, for the love of the Hockey Gods, DRIVE THE PUCK TO THE NET ON THE POWER PLAY. What's the point of being offensively talented if you are going to go 0 for 5 on the Power Play? Tom Renny and Co. need to pick an identity and cultivate the way that it manifests itself among the players. Find out who you want to be and make other teams play you that way, because when it comes down to it, individual talent can be squashed by a solid team performance. The Penguins had more talent in last years finals. Crosby and Malkin were the best players on the ice and Marc Andre-Fleury was superior to Chris Osgood, but, the Red Wings had long since committed to who they wanted to be and they played like it. Led by Nikolas Lidstrom, they slowed the game down, pressured the puck, and made Pittsburgh play in tight spaces. Crosby couldn't get loose, and Malkin couldn't create his own shots on a consistent basis leading to panic amongst the youngsters. They tried to play the Red Wings game and lost uneventfully in 6 games.
 

Stay Safe and Check in soon Hockey Fans.