Rangers must seek retribution in Garden rematch

November 29, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

There’s no point in discussing the end result of another shameless performance from the Rangers, who were predictably pummeled by Sidney Crosby and the Pens 8-3 at Mellon Arena Saturday night. So, Sid The Kid did what he always does even if the victim was poor Steve Valiquette- scoring his fourth career hat trick while also setting up two more in the rout.

That the Rangers actually started alright with Marc Staal scoring on a nice backhand made it that much sadder. What took place the rest of the night was one of the worst defensive games from this franchise since the lockout, eerily reminding us of yesteryear. The Pens responded by dominating with three unanswered to end a first that saw Vally under siege. He had actually held up well before a disgusting turnover in which four Rangers stick checked, failing to clear the zone as a streaking Crosby picked off the puck and wired one top shelf. Naturally, captain Chris Drury was a bystander. The Pens never looked back, victimizing Drury’s line again with Max Talbot beating Valiquette one-on-one with a shootout-esque backhand five-hole. Where was the D? Invisible.

It only got worse as Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins poured it on, even scoring a crusher with 0.2 seconds left to take a 4-2 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes, erasing Matt Gilroy’s fourth on a night only Ranger blueliners found the back of the net. Amazingly, Michal Rozsival made it one goal again less than 30 seconds into the third. But on a night where the Blueshirts got offense from the second most productive blueline (18 goals T-2nd), they couldn’t prevent Pittsburgh from blowing it open with Crosby taking full advantage of a  Valiquette miscue for his second less than three minutes later. Pascal Dupuis made it three and then things turned ugly courtesy of a dangerous high hit from feisty Pen Matt Cooke, which likely concussed Artem Anisimov.

Of course, the Rangers went after Cooke, who’s been involved in these kinda cheapshots before. Cooke is a solid player for the Pens, adding plenty of physicality along with grit to a team that has everything. However, this was just the latest instance in which a player who plays on the edge injured a defenseless target. Even worse was that when Donald Brashear actually tried to do his job, the refs broke it up and of course handed out a double minor while Cooke got zilch. This permitted Sid to turn the trick with a perfect laser that made it 7-3 as plenty of hats flew on Hat Night. While the home club tacked on another via the other end of the four minutes, a perturbed John Tortorella summed up many fans’ frustration with the wussification of the sport.

“He [Cooke] eaves his feet, it’s an absolute head shot, the linesman jumps in when somebody else is trying to take care of business, that should have been left alone. This is where our game is screwed up as far as I’m concerned. There is just no respect for these types of situations.”

About damn time someone had the guts to say it. All we ever hear is talk from a league that wants to eliminate such chaos. But when do they ever take a hard look at themselves about why it’s become this way? There once was a time when it was settled on the ice. Of course, before one of the worst rules ever called the instigator, deterring players from policing themselves. Now, even with fights up, enforcers often get victimized by this joke of a rule that allows dirty players like Cooke off the hook. Granted. A guy like Brash is as bad as it gets but at least he has made his living with his fists.

There’s a fine line between that and what punks like Cooke and Patrick Kaleta get away with. Oh. Kaleta is a similar player to Cooke who has value and even has contributed offensively. He hits hard and can drop the gloves. But there are too many scenarios where he’s catching guys late and usually it’s cheap like the hit he got a slap on the wrist for. Two games??? I never liked him as a coach but Colin Campbell is one of the dumbest league deputies ever. How does this man keep his job? It’s an absolute disgrace.

Is it also any great shock that the NHL chose not to show Cooke’s hit on Anisimov that eventually led to Ryan Callahan taking matters into his own hands followed by a more visible Sean Avery instigating a fight with Ruslan Fedotenko- who appeared to get away with a slewfoot- and led to Aves being ejected? The reason is fairly simple. It was PITTSBURGH.

The one area the Rangers are finally doing better is watching teammates’ backs. That it started with a kid like Gilroy, who stepped in for Vinny Prospal, says a lot. They’re at least showing that they care which will win more respect in the room and maybe even register with future foes. Tomorrow night at The Garden, the Rangers get these same Pens. While it would be nice to win on the scoreboard in one of those Versus annoyances, I’d much rather witness this team take care of business the old fashioned way. By beating the hell out of an opponent who’s been a major thorn in the side. If they want to play rough, let’s recall some enforcements from Hartford and send a message. Dane Byers should be up for this one. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

I’m rooting for no suspension on Cooke. I want him on the ice for the rematch because that’s the only way to get proper retaliation. Watch the league, who can’t get enough of the Pens or Caps, warn the benches prior and instruct the refs. God forbid a team stand up for themselves against one of “their teams.” When you hear former players like Ken Daneyko and Butch Goring up in arms over what’s happened to the game while looking ready to get back out there, you know things are completely messed. There’s a time to let go and that’s what clearly needs to happen here. Though I’m not getting too excited.

Of course, I want to see a Ranger win even if I realize the season’s a lost cause. But this one time, whatever happens on the scoreboard is secondary. Just kill ‘em!