R1, G2: Disappointment in DC

Oh, what a difference an inch makes. Anton Stralman's shot four minutes into Game 2 is an inch lower and Saturday may have been quite different. While I am not about to go all Al Pacino over that inch, it proved to be quite important as it was the Blueshirts' closest scoring attempt in what was to be a 1-0 overtime loss to the Capitals.

But as old Al details in that classic speech from "Any Given Sunday", you've got to fight for that inch and the Rangers have yet to put that effort in. For all of his blustering and hysterics, Torts has never been able to get his team ready to play at puck drop so perhaps, perhaps - two games in - they will finally wake up for Game 3.

Perhaps getting out of that cesspool city they were in for the first two games will help. But, given how quiet the Garden has been this year, home ice may not be so much of an advantage. Plus, I saw that there are over two thousand tickets available between Stubhub and TicketsNow for Monday's match. Thanks to the insane prices set by Dolan's minions, plenty of True Blue are selling and it is impossible to blame them for it.

Either way, the games are won on the ice and not in the crowd. The saying goes that a playoff series isn't over until a team loses at home. So, at least we have that. For now.

Enough about Game 3, some Late Hits about 2:

*Three power plays, nothing. Guys standing around, taking bad shots that were easily blocked ... Ranger typical. Were they hosed on Alzner's puck into the crowd? Absolutely. But do you really think another power play really would have mattered?

*Braden Holtby - a goaltender who wouldn't even start on 28 other teams (figure he'd be an upgrade in Edmonton, maybe) - has barely been challenged, barely been disturbed. It's one thing to give the goalie wide berth if you are playing against a l33t tender, but Holtby has been given an easy ride by the lackluster Ranger attack.

*Here's a wild thought for the Rangers: don't shoot the puck at Holtby's chest.

*Wouldn't it be nice for the team to forecheck, to hold their own blue line, to carry the puck across the opposition's instead of dumping ... what wonderful team that would be to watch.

*The scorekeeper counted an insane 58 hits for the Rangers. Fifty-eight hits that resulted in just five takeaways. That's a problem. Hit for possession, hit for intimidation, don't hit just to hit.

*That was a big issue for DZ over the last few years (and still is) but the kid is putting together some of the best defensive shifts of his career. It is a shame that they are largely wasted as his partners are horrible and the two guys above him are so exhausted that they're making amateur mistakes.

*Speaking of amateur, John Tortorella. What kind of coach is so clueless, so incapable of motivating his players, so lacking in ideas that he has to juggle his lines in the second game of the playoffs? (Yes, I know he has done it all season long, it was rhetorical.)

*As for his decision to put Brian Boyle and Derek Dorsett in ... ridiculousness. Boyle, who's mere presence is a black hole in the lineup that makes the lines uneven, and a guy who is coming off an injury, has never played in the playoffs and never played for the organization before. And neither of them have any real hope of scoring goals, the prime problem of Game 1.

*It is a real shame that Torts has no faith in Chris Kreider. No idea why the bench boss has so much faith in Taylor Pyatt.

*That being said, no judgement on Dorsett's first game. He shouldn't have been inserted in the lineup cold turkey but he appeared to skate hard and was certainly willing to throw his recently-healed body around. We'll see what happens once Torts drains the life out of him.

*Previously made the comparison of Brian Boyle to Willie Huber before but now I want to issue an apology. Willie, wherever you are (he passed away in '10), I'm sorry. You were not nearly as useless.

*Zuccarello was all over the ice in the first period, then pretty much disappeared as Torts started his juggling act. Using him as the physical winger with a completely covered Nash and a legless Richard$ is pointless.

*John Carlson had seven shots on goal in 10 attempts for Washington. The entire Ranger defense had four shots on goal on 11 attempts. The Caps are capably clogging the middle, but the Blueshirts are taking far too long in their decision making.

*Best part of the series coming back to MSG? No stupid horn or morons incessantly banging on the glass. Man, are DC fans annoying or what?

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Braden Holtby - 24 saves.
2-Mike Green - one goal.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 37 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Cally - The only Ranger skater who looked interested throughout the entire game, the only one who looked like he got angry. Woulda loved to hear what Hendricks said to him in that scrum.
2-Green - Saw his goal coming a mile away and it still beat Hank.
1-Hank - No King, no chance. This one woulda been five or six-zip, easily.