The Rangers have a long way to go in order to catch up to the superior Islanders.
That feeling couldn’t have been clearer after Rangers left the ice following a dismal 4-0 season-opening loss to their longtime rivals.
It was unmistakable how unprepared the Blueshirts appeared throughout the one-sided contest. This was a team that didn’t show up with the pulse needed to compete with the Isles for 60 minutes, nor did they possess the mental sharpness required to execute at a professional level – and they made the situation all the more challenging by taking a slew of avoidable penalties.
The Islanders looked exactly like the high-aiming team that reached last season’s Eastern Conference Final, while the Blueshirts were a disorganized mishmash of youngsters learning on the fly and veterans failing to meet the bare minimums of effort and composure.
If you’ve followed this space closely, you’re aware of my skepticism toward the Rangers carrying declining 34-year-old defenseman Jack Johnson. Every metric showed that Johnson has been the poorest-performing blue liner in the NHL over the past three seasons.
Immediately, Johnson put the Rangers behind the eight ball by being whistled for the game’s first penalty for holding Anders Lee’s stick. The Islanders cashed in on that opportunity with a Brock Nelson power play goal. At 34, Johnson’s skates have slowed. He’s not the same player he was during his early peak with the Los Angeles Kings or his prime years with the Columbus Blue Jackets – but you expect him to have the presence of mind to avoid that kind of penalty and careless outlet passing.
You expect mistakes from youngsters, especially ones making their NHL debut in K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere. It’s a fair assumption that over time, these youths will correct their bad tendencies through gained experience and wisdom.
However, the highly-paid stars, the veterans, the guys who wear the alternate captain’s ‘A’ should know better. You expect Artemi Panarin to be a factor, and he wasn’t; the trio of Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Ryan Strome recorded just five shots on goal. On the flip side, Mika Zibanejad tallied five shots on goal – but few made Semyon Varlamov sweat.
Jacob Trouba and Tony DeAngelo were bullied and juked out of their skates by the Isles’ top offensive talents throughout the night. DeAngelo would later lose his cool, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on top of a holding penalty. The moment pretty much summed up a night to forget for the Blueshirts.
No. 1 goaltender Igor Shesterkin struggled early, but he eventually grew into the game. The same can’t be said about many of the teammates playing in front of him. The final score line would have been even more tilted if not for the steeliness shown by Shesterkin during a third period where the Islanders outshot the Rangers, 12-3.
A repeat of this timid, self-inflicted embarrassment will not be tolerated by this fan base. If the Rangers can’t find the motivation to skate hard and with their heads screwed on straight against the same heated rival opponent in the same building on Saturday, then maybe management should start considering a roster reshuffling. At bare minimum, these Rangers owe their fans a hard-skating effort.
Follow Sean Hartnett on Twitter: @HartnettHockey
