Live Blog – Rangers @ Capitals

So the boys get back at it today following another unpredictable win.  That’s really how its going to be the rest of the season; to try and predict which Rangers team will take the ice night-in, night-out is an impossibility. 

Valiquette gets the nod again today.  My opinion: right move.  Vally’s given up a goal or less in 3 of his last 4 starts.  Lundqvist’s given up 3 or more in 4 of his last 5 starts.  The Rangers right now seem to be playing a lot tighter in front of Vally then they do in front of Lundqvist and right now its all about the points. 

1:11 p.m.: Untouched.  That goal was caused by a complete lack of effort on the Rangers part.  Washington was able to skate unimpeded into the zone and then got one, two, three cracks at the rebound before Ovechkin finally put it in.  Girardi had a terrible shift.

1:22 p.m.: Whoo–is that Sean Avery or Brendan Shanahan out there?  Gomez pretty much whiffed on the dump attempt and the bouncing puck popped right onto Avery’s stick.  That’s a big goal for a Rangers team that came out without the necessary fire to compete in this game.

1:41 p.m.: I’m loving what Paul Mara’s doing on the PP right now.  If he keeps ripping them like that, more will go in that not.

1:42 p.m.: It was a decent first period.  For almost the first half of that period the Rangers looked lethargic out there.  The Avery goal really woke the team up though and the Rangers dominated the second half of that period.

2:03 p.m.: Great save by Kolzig, but let’s be honest.  Hollweg has about as good an ability to finish as does my grandmother.

2:15 p.m.: Man does Drury look like he’s found his game.  3 weeks ago he couldn’t buy a goal and now everything he touches ends up at the back of the net.  That’s 6 goals in 7 games for Dru and believe it or not, he’s now the Rangers leading goal scorer.

2:17 p.m.: Another penalty called on the Caps.  Boy the Rangers are really outworking Washington this period.  They really need to capitalize on one of these PP opportunities and try and put this game out of reach.  They can’t dominate a team like this and still only be up one at intermission.  Wouldn’t you love to see Jagr score and get rewarded for his hard work too. 

2:32 p.m.: Rangers now 0 for 5 on the PP and this is what kills them.  The Rangers should be up 3 or 4 goals right now, but because they can’t get anything going with the man advantage it’s still a one goal game.  It’s just a bad bounce here or there from being tied up.  It’s a situation we’ve seen the Rangers put themselves in on so many occassions this year and it’s a big reason why they’ll continue to fight for a playoff spot until the final game.

2:35 p.m.: EXACTLY MY POINT! The Rangers simply don’t have the ability to run away with games.  They don’t capitalize on the plethora of opportunities that are given to them and because of that, they let teams hang around.  When teams hang around, they start believing they can win and start catching a break or two.  There’s absolutely no reason that the Rangers should be going into the second intermission tied right now, but when you don’t take advantage of opportunities, that’s exactly what happens.

3:18 p.m.: Here’s the chance.  6:41 left, sixth PP of the game…gotta capitalize.

3:22 p.m.: It’s truly unbelievable how bad the Rangers’ power play is.  If they don’t win this game, that’s the reason why.

3:24 p.m.: Way to go Hollweg.  Yet another example of Holly proving how valuable his is to this team…

3:26 p.m.: On to OT.  VERY VERY VERY big point up for grabs right now.

3:29 p.m.: Today’s game was the definition of giving a game away.  The Rangers should have stepped on the Caps throats in the second period, but as we’ve seen time and time and time and time again this season, they don’t take advantage on ANY opportunities.  Every other team around the NHL can seemingly do what the Rangers can’t…capitalize.  And then, just to tie the nice little bow on the giveaway, Ryan “I’m the most useless player in the league” Hollweg takes a penalty right before the extra session.  Of course, Washington uses the power play to their advantage and wins the game.  Now the Rangers have to sit and watch for the next week as teams undoubtedly pass them in the standings.  If I’m Glen Sather, I use this week to seriously evaluate what I can do to try and save this sinking ship.