After three Eastern Conference Final appearances and a trip to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final in the past four years, the Rangers entered the 2015-16 season setting their sights squarely on finishing the job and winning the elusive Stanley Cup.
However they ran into the hottest team in the NHL in the opening round of the playoffs and were thoroughly outplayed by Pittsburgh, ultimately eliminated in five games after losing 6-3 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Game Five Saturday afternoon.
It marked the first time in five years that the Rangers did not win at least one round in the post-season. They had won eight series in the previous four years, but could not keep up with the high-flying Penguins who, including this series, have won 18 of their last 21 games. The Penguins outscored New York 21-10 in the series, including a dominating 11-3 in Games Four and Five.
“They played better, and simply put, they executed better in all facets of the game–power play, penalty kill, and five-on-five,” stated Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh. “We didn’t play well enough. They were a lot better throughout the series, made us pay for our mistakes–and we made way too many. It’s tough to grasp right now. We didn’t play up to our potential.”
Added Derick Brassard, “We didn’t have any answers for anything.”
This one actually started out looking hopeful for the Rangers, who had brought an impressive 15-4 record over their last 19 playoff elimination games into Saturday’s contest. Rick Nash deflected a Dan Girardi slap shot through the pads of Penguins goalie Matt Murray and into the cage just 62 seconds into the game as the Rangers grabbed a quick 1-0 lead.
Pittsburgh evened things up when former Blueshirt Carl Hagelin got behind Derek Stepan for a doorstep slam dunk at 9:50; but some fortunate bounces less than a minute later handed New York a 2-1 lead. A Jesper Fast right-wing shot deflected off Sidney Crosby’s stick and then off the far post. The puck bounced out towards the slot, hit Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist in the skate and proceeded to deflect off the leg of New York’s Dominic Moore and over the goal line at 10:35, with Moore credited with his first goal of the series.
That was the end of any kind of good luck the Rangers would have the rest of the afternoon. The Penguins tied the game once again at 11:39 when Phil Kessel ripped a right-wing shot past Henrik Lundqvist and into the far top far corner for his third power play goal of the series; and that 2-2 score held up into the second intermission.
The second period was all Penguins, and the final demise of the Rangers 2015-16 season. Pittsburgh scored four unanswered goals in the middle twenty, running out to a 6-2 lead, as the wheels completely came off for New York.
“I think you have to give credit where credit is due, Pittsburgh coming into this was playing real well and they continued to play real well in this series,” stated Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. “They’re on top of their game right now, have four lines going well, and they’re a real good team.”
Bryan Rust scored to open the period and close out the second period, his first two goals of the series, with Matt Cullen and Conor Sheary scoring in between. As the Rangers sagged, the Penguins surged, with their gold-clad fans reveling in every second of beating the team that had eliminated them in both the 2014 and 2015 playoffs.
“They, more times than not, outworked us,” explained Girardi. “I definitely didn’t see this happening. There’s a ton of disappointment right now, certainly not a great feeling.”
Lundqvist, who was taunted by the Penguins faithful throughout the game, was replaced by Antti Raanta at the start of the third period. The Rangers No. 1 goalie allowed six goals on 23 shots two days after surrendering four on 18 shots over 26 minutes of play in Thursday’s 5-0 Game Four defeat.
“In the second period it was a feeling of embarrassment to give up that many goals, but also a sense of hopelessness” said Lundqvist.
Vigneault desperately tried to shake things up by reinserting Girardi into the lineup and playing a seventh defenseman–Raphael Diaz–who could possibly get the team’s struggling power play going. Diaz did give the New York a small spark, assisting on Chris Kreider’s power play goal 5:38 into the third period–a deflection of a Diaz slap shot–to cut the Rangers deficit to 6-3. New York was 1-for-3 on the man advantage Saturday, and ended the series a woeful 2-for-19.
With Girardi and Diaz in the lineup, Vigneault scratched a pair of veterans–defenseman Dan Boyle and forward Tanner Glass. He also chose to play Oscar Lindberg for a second consecutive game in the place of the struggling Kevin Hayes.
“At the end of the day you’re in this to win and I went with what I thought was the best lineup,” offered Vigneault.
The minor shake up did not have much effect on the outcome of this game, however, and the Rangers headed into the off-season on a distinct downer following a 101-point regular season.
“The ultimate goal is to win the Cup, so when you get kicked out like we did in the first round it’s very disappointing,” concluded Vigneault. “We’ve got disappointment throughout the management, coaches and players, no doubt, and the Rangers fans. We all wanted more and expected more.”
Jim Cerny
BlueshirtsUnited.com
