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Alright. That’s two stinkers. Let’s hope the Rangers get it out of their system. They really can’t afford too many of these. The home opener was a dud. John Tortorella promised they’d be better. Instead, they let the Penguins skate circles around them. When it was over, the Rangers had been thoroughly outclassed.

The final score read Penguins 6 Rangers 3. Pittsburgh could’ve reached 10. They were miles better and don’t seem to miss Jordan Staal. It helps when you boast the two best players in the game. Right now, Evgeni Malkin is playing better than Sidney Crosby. The rating MVP dominated with three assists. All were perfect set ups for the Pens’ first, fourth and fifth goals. The big man who totaled 65 points in the KHL was in brilliant form. He also made an outstanding defensive play on Rick Nash.

On a night when Crosby only had an assist, it didn’t matter. The Pens still had Geno killing our invisible D with a one-man fore check. His best was better than most of our team, who didn’t bother to show. Two listless performances back-to-back. Not the way you want to start with so many expectations. MSG was a morgue. I guess this is what Dolan wanted. A passionless arena lacking enough True Blue who wait a few games before booing. Embarrassing.

GAME OBSERVATIONS

-You can’t keep starting games taking penalties. Brad Richards’ interference killed any momentum from the Arron Asham–Tanner Glass blockbuster. Even worse, the Pens cashed in thanks to Malkin finding Neal for the first of two.

-The scrap off the opening faceoff was entertaining. Both Asham and Glass got in good blows. But let’s be honest. It was one of those unnecessary fights the league must do away with. Pre-scripted.

-The Rangers got it tied up following a new penalty on Brandon Sutter for using his glove to win a draw. Actually a decent new rule. They actually converted a 5-on-3 thanks to gritty captain Ryan Callahan doing the dirty work in front to deflect his first past Tomas Vokoun. It was much simpler with Derek Stepan and Richards combining to get the puck to the net.

-Overall, the Ranger power play was better with them making quicker decisions. They nearly went ahead on the back end of Sutter’s penalty. Vokoun made some key saves.

-On the Pens’ second goal, Stu Bickel got burned by Joe Vitale, whose initial shot was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist. But he left a rebound allowing Tyler Kennedy to deposit it. There were many Stu bashers after the first. How many looked the other way on Pittsburgh’s third goal? Matt Niskanen beat Henrik from the blueline. The puck changed direction off Dan Girardi but still went through our goalie. One he would want back.

-A disturbing trend so far is losing big defensive draws. We saw it lead to Bergeron’s goal last night. This time, Crosby won his only faceoff of the first back to Niskanen, who let it fly. Simple fundamentals that can be fixed on an off day. The Rangers have two coming up, which should help.

-They’re not fore checking consistently. One of the reasons last year’s team was so good was due to their strong work ethic. Everyone bought in. Even with the addition of Nash, they can’t rely on talent. They got caught in a run-n-gun with the high flying Pens. You can’t beat them that way. Our team must get back to chipping the puck in and banging bodies. They lost two Brandons who did that: Dubinsky and Prust.

–Chris Kreider was more engaged. He nearly tied the game up after intercepting a pass and just missing. He also took a huge hit from Brooks Orpik on his final shift. While reaching for the puck, Orpik caught him with a clean shoulder to the jaw. It was scary with Kreider not getting up right away. But he was able to skate off on his own. He’s vital to this team’s success. Hopefully, he’s okay.

-The second period was abysmal. They didn’t compete and took the only three penalties. All deserved, including a slash on Mike Del Zotto, who dared the refs to call it. Like Richards’ penalty, the Pens took advantage with Neal beating Lundqvist with a wrist shot top shelf. It looked he was screened by a diving Callahan. That was enough for Tortorella to pull Henrik for Martin Biron. Biron was sharp finishing with 19 saves.

-I felt that if they could score two in the third, maybe they could use it a confidence boost for Wednesday’s home rematch against the Bruins. Taylor Pyatt scored his first to make it 5-2 and Nash tallied his first as a Blueshirt shorthanded to make it interesting. Stepan outhustled three Pens and set up Nash for the shorty. D-Step had two assists and Nash was strong again. That’s at least something.

–Marian Gaborik looks lost on left wing. Stick him with Richards and Nash like Tort did for a late shift and reunite Kreider with Stepan and Callahan. Gabby must play with Richie to succeed. Kreider is a better fit for the straight ahead North American style of D-Step and Captain Cally. They had chemistry last Spring. Carl Hagelin is a tireless worker who thinks pass first with better players. He can’t be used on the top two lines. Stick him with Boyle and Pyatt. It’ll make our team tougher.

-The fourth line looked alright. Jeff Halpern had a solid Broadway debut going five-and-two in the faceoff circle with three shots. Asham fought and Mike Rupp took his shot. In order for this team to move forward, these should be your lines:

Nash-Richards-Gaborik
Kreider-Stepan-Callahan
Hagelin-Boyle-Pyatt
Rupp-Halpern-Asham

–Marc Staal has been brutal thus far. He was minus-three in Boston and took a delay of game penalty and didn’t shoot with the team trailing by two. He must step it up. Ryan McDonagh wasn’t much better- getting pushed off the puck on the Pens’ fifth goal. It can’t just be Danny G all the time.

–Kris Letang sealed it with an empty netter. A rare mistake by Callahan, who threw a blind back pass.

–Matt Cooke’s back to being Matt Cooke. He got a cheap shot in on Rupp during a change and hooked Del Zotto down right in front of the stripes. MDZ earned an Academy Award for that dive. But an undisciplined penalty from Cooke.

-Vokoun made 31 saves to earn his first win as a Pen. A great signing by Pitt GM Ray Shero.

-Big kudos to the Ranger organization for paying tribute to Sandy victims. They chose 20 fans and presented autographed sticks. A nice gesture. Ironically, they also sent authentic twigs to Chase subscribers who renewed. I have an auto’d Callahan sitting in my room.