Rangers Vs. Sharks: Well, That Escalated Quickly
Notes from the Rangers huge loss to the Sharks.
- I have a confession to make. With some new (good) things happening at work I haven't been able to stay up for these 10:30 games. I watched about three minutes of the game last night (enough to see the Brad Richards goal and then the San Jose Sharks shorthanded goal) and then I went to bed. So imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to see the final score was 9-2.
- This isn't going to be too in depth since I didn't watch the game, but you can't panic after three games. A loss is a loss; it doesn't matter if it's 9-2, 15-1, 150-1 or 1-0. Those two points are gone, regardless of the score. Yes, it was an embarrassment, and yes, we're going to have to live with the mockery for awhile. But it is what it is.
- With that being said, there are some things you should be concerned (note: concerned, not panicked) about. The goals against is a big issue. The Rangers have been outscored 14-6 in the first three games. Four goals in the loss to the Coyotes, a single goal in the win over the Kings and nine goals against in the loss to the Sharks. Again, it's only three games and one of those games skews the numbers heavily, but it happened. The goaltending has been shaky (is it the adjustment to the smaller pads?) and the offense has been close but hasn't been able to finish. Again, it's been just three games.
- A lot of people are going to have a ball ripping into Alain Vigneault's system by claiming it doesn't work since the New York Rangers defense has taken a heavy hit in two of the three games. Don't get suckered in to those debates. It's been three games. We'll talk if this continues.
- It's hard for me to get too worked up about this result. I didn't see the game (that might be part of it) but it's also just three games into the year. Yes, it's an unacceptable score, and yes, the start of the season hasn't exactly been overloaded with offense; but we've talked about the Rangers potentially getting off to a rough start. I think things will be better. I hope things will get better. And if they don't get better (and soon) we'll talk then.
Thoughts on this?