Excited Pens celebrate a goal in an easy win over the listless Rangers.
Getty Images/Canadian Press

Halfway through the 82-game schedule, I was ready to give the Rangers a reprieve. Figuring our best players couldn’t be possibly worse, it had to go up. Following two consecutive wins, they stepped up in class and visited the Penguins at First Consol Energy Center. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Looking hung over, they mailed it in with a listless performance in a 5-2 loss that was much wider than the final margin.

Speaking of which, I feel like mailing in my recap. 😛 But I digress. If that’s the kind of effort they’re going to put into it, what’s the point? Why go through the trouble of blogging about this shameless team? That crappy MSG slogan #ItsDifferentHere sounds vaguely familiar to a similar one they came up with the year they brought in Bobby Holik. Remember those days? Exactly.

This team is a collective embarrassment. On the night Ryan Callahan works so hard to comeback, they give you a stinker. Why does the captain even hustle to get back to such a lifeless unit? It’s broken. Everything John Tortorella did has been destroyed. I’m not throwing the blame directly at Alain Vigneault. They play so passionless that it reflects poorly on the well mannered French Canadian speaking coach. Need I remind you his last two Canucks teams gave up. In fact, they lost 10 of their last 11 postseason games dating back to the 2011 Stanley Cup conclusion against the Bruins. That and not the Cup appearance is what those teams will be remembered for.

I don’t even feel like doing a goal by goal breakdown. What’s the point? There’s no point fooling ourselves into thinking this team will turn it around. You know who I pin most of the blame on. The goalie. Henrik Lundqvist wanted a change and management caved. He opened his mouth and that was enough. Even if more key players wanted a new voice in the locker room, Hank is the one with some pull. What never made sense is Glen Sather waiting until mid-December to give him his extension. He even screwed that up waiting for Vigneault to create odd questions pertaining to Cam Talbot, who even after Lundqvist got his big deal started three in a row before they went back to Hank.

More than anyone, Lundqvist wanted a more wide open style without realizing that the personnel wasn’t cut out for it. What we continue to get is numerous breakdowns and substandard goaltending from the anointed “King.” He entered with a 2.70 GAA and .908 save percentage. It couldn’t possibly get worse, right? Wrong. At some point, you expect an elite goalie to clean up his teammates messes. By allowing the Pens’ second goal to an unchecked Jussi Jokinen with Benoit Pouliot watching, the roof caved in. It isn’t so much that it was a bad goal but for Lundqvist to not even be set was sheer laziness. Especially against a dangerous opponent capable of erupting.

Before you knew it, it was 4-0 Pens after two. The game was over. By that point, we switched to a more competitive Hawks/Devils which showed a rival that fought to the bitter end before Patrick Sharp sealed it with his hat trick. Sure. Mats Zuccarello scored and set up Ryan McDonagh suddenly cutting it to 4-2 with 8:07 left. But any false hope was erased 61 seconds later by Chris Kunitz because our goalie never comes up with the big save. Don’t worry. Win or lose, Hank will get his money for a long time. A King who was outclassed by ageless wonder Martin Brodeur.

Most humiliating was the lack of guts. Nobody stood up for McDonagh or Dan Girardi following tough hits. And McDonagh had to deal with the ever loathsome Sidney Crosby after he finished a clean check. Want the biggest difference between these franchises? Following a scrum, Crosby went out of his way to shove Derick Brassard away from Marc-Andre Fleury’s crease. When’s the last time a Ranger did that for Lundqvist? They’re too busy lying down or not bothering to take the man in front. Maybe they can blame Mike Del Zotto. Or tease another John Moore Beginnings. Or perhaps point to The Lounges. Anything for a spin.

That’s what it’s become. Clown management. It took a while for it to come full circle. I’m most looking forward to the Stadium Series in freezing temps at Yankee Stadium. Then the Olympics will be a nice distraction. After that, I don’t care what happens with this team. If they get eliminated from playoff contention, that’s fine with me. It needs to be dismantled. Here’s to the Draft.