I’ve seen it almost all when it comes to the Hudson River Rivalry between my New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers. Being born in 1995, I was just barely spared the disappointment of “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau” in the 1994 Eastern Conference Final.
My childhood saw the tide turn toward the Devils as they won three Stanley Cups. Ever since Adam Henrique said “it’s over” with his stick in the 2012 Eastern Conference Final, it was the Blueshirts who always seemed to come out on top.
Now, the tide may be turning once again. New Jersey beating the Rangers 5-3 on their home ice was the latest in a series of disappointments for New York. This follows an absolutely heartbreaking regulation loss against the Edmonton Oilers where New York blew a 3-0 lead in the third period.
“Okay, even our blown lead wasn’t that bad” -Atlanta Falcons fans, probably.
Maybe expectations were too high for the Rangers. Going into last season, everyone expected the team consisting of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Igor Shesterkin to be a playoff team.
No one expected them to go on a conference final run that left them two wins away from the Cup final. We won’t say they got “lucky”, because that usually sounds like someone who’s trying to make excuses.
Let’s say they “got hot at the right time” and got the benefit of a few puck bounces and bad breaks.
Rangers fans were hoping their team would be higher in the standings.
File this under “early season panic”, but some think head coach Gerard Gallant might be on the hot seat. It doesn’t help Gallant’s case that his previous head coaching stints featured abrupt exits after losing streaks.
In fact, his experience with the Rangers mirrors that of his with the Panthers: having a really good season and being a Jack Adams award finalist, only to have a disappointing season right after (for the record, Gallant lasted two full seasons in Florida before being fired in his third).
“Forever Blueshirts” speculates the availability of Barry Trotz might make Gallant expendable if the front office decides on a change behind the bench.
No one expected them to come back from being down 3-1 against a Pittsburgh Penguins team on their third-string goalie. No one gave them a chance against the Carolina Hurricanes in game seven at Raleigh, but luckily for them, things broke their way.
Is it possible their deep playoff run increased expectations this year by just a tad too much? Calling the Rangers a playoff contender is accurate, but a cup contender seemed like just a bit of a stretch. Not saying it isn’t possible, just that we would put our money on someone else.
Maybe it’s because goaltender Igor Shesterkin has fallen a bit down to earth. Last year he was the undisputed best goaltender in the world.
With his 2.07 goals against average and 0.935 save percentage, he was playing like Frankenstein’s goaltending monster made up of the best parts of Martin Brodeur, Dominic Hasek, and Terry Sawchuck. Most said last year the Rangers would go as far as Shesterkin would take them.
That’s why it’s not a surprise the team’s tempered results match his more pedestrian, but still good, 2.58 goals against average and .913 save percentage. Shesterkin has accepted the brunt of the responsibility for New York’s losing ways, even if it’s not entirely his fault.
Perhaps the biggest change for the worse for New York this season has been the ineffectiveness of their power play. On the man advantage, New York is a decent 21.3% good for 19th in the NHL.
Last season they were fourth in the league with a 25.2% success rate, as their five-on-five play suffered. Chris Kreider had a historic season waiting in front of the crease for power play tip-ins where 26 of his 56 goals were scored (compared to 23 on even strength).
New York is still a good enough team to play playoff hockey. No one should panic that they won’t be one of the 16 teams left standing. This year’s potential run may be shorter than last year’s, but then again, anything can happen in the playoffs.