Henrik Lundqvist can only watch helplessly as Brandon Sutter scores a shorthanded goal in the Pens’ 4-2 Game 4 win putting the Rangers on the brink.
AP Photo/Bruce Bennett

The disappointment is palpable. It’s hard to express in words how I feel after watching that. Of course, I’m referring to the latest Garden disappointment. Maybe I should be glad I knew better than to go with my Dad, brother and his friend. But it only makes me feel worse. That they and other legions of True Blueshirts had to endure such a pathetic performance against a team they can’t beat.

A couple of days removed from limiting the high powered Penguins to 15 shots, that’s all the Rangers mustered on Marc-Andre Fleury in a depressing 4-2 Game 4 defeat. At least they figured out a way to beat him. It only took over 145 minutes for Carl Hagelin to score off a rush tying it at 5:30 of the second period. Instead of grabbing momentum, they were outshot 11-5 and allowed a crushing shorthanded goal to Brent Sutter with 1:33 left. A pathetic giveaway from frequent boo target Rick Nash led directly to Sutter finishing off a Brian Gibbons rebound that put Pittsburgh ahead for good.

The unfortunate sequence summed up another miserable playoffs for a pathetic power play that has now failed on 36 consecutive chances. Remember all the experts who pinned the blame on John Tortorella and Mike Sullivan? They can now take a hard look at Alain Vigneault and Scott Arniel. At this point, it doesn’t matter who coaches or runs it. Eventually, you have to look at the personnel. Their failure has cost them the last two games allowing the Pens to sweep two at MSG and put them on the brink.

With the Rangers finally able to attack the middle of the ice against a shorthanded Pens, who were a man down on defense due to Brooks Orpik suffering a lower body injury in the first, they traded chances in an entertaining second. The problem was they only got five shots through and misfired on several point blank opportunities. One such instance saw Nash come in on a three on one but with his luck, the puck never settled and turned into a harmless attempt that never reached Fleury. That explains Nash. Even when he gets chances, something goes wrong. For the game, he led the Rangers with four shots while missing another couple. The only player who had over two.

Knowing they needed to win, the Rangers came out with a strong shift from Nash, Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider. Reinserted into the lineup, Kreider nearly helped set up an early goal. The trio showed chemistry right away with Stepan getting a tough backhand on Fleury that the Pittsburgh netminder got a piece of. Some good forecheck pressure from Kreider and Stepan allowed Nash to walk out and get another shot which Fleury handled.

Unfortunately, the Pens cranked it up a couple of shifts later. They took full advantage of a terrible Anton Stralman turnover and turned it into an early goal. Inexplicably, he passed right into the middle of the neutral zone. The puck was easily intercepted by Evgeni Malkin. He worked a give and go with Sidney Crosby and was able to coral a pass and fire a sneaky backhander by Henrik Lundqvist at 2:31. It happened in the blink of an eye. A bang bang play where no one took Malkin. He was really and dominated at even strength with a goal and assist while attempting 13 shots.

Following Malkin’s tally, it was all Pens. They continually pressed the action. Using superior speed and strength, they forced a sloppy Rangers team into awful turnovers. How bad were they? In the first half of the opening period, they had eight giveaways. That was a mind numbing theme. In 60 minutes, they finished with a ridiculous 25 turnovers. That kind of careless play doomed them. Something Pierre McGuire was quick to point out.

Despite the turnover fest, the Rangers were able hold the Pens to seven shots. That included consecutive penalty kills on a pair of Pittsburgh power plays. Conversely, the Rangers managed six on Fleury, who didn’t permit a goal for a seventh straight period. Fittingly, Chris Kunitz was penalized for slashing Dan Girardi following a tough hit with 1:08 left. Once again, they were unable to capitalize on the power play. Having time split up didn’t help. Neither did their inability to win faceoffs. The Rangers were pitiful losing 31 of 49 draws. That kind of disadvantage allowed the Penguins to own the puck.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma opted to play Orpik over Robert Bortuzzo. After missing the first three games, the physical defenseman was deemed ready. He threw a couple of big hits including one on Brad Richards. However, a check he delivered on Mats Zuccarello resulted in him landing awkwardly near the first’s conclusion. Orpik seemed to be favoring a leg when he left. At one point in the second, Bylsma was down two defensemen with Kris Letang off for a skate repair. The Rangers only were able to score once.

With Bylsma loading up Malkin, Crosby and Kunitz every shift, they were dangerous. Lundqvist made some difficult saves from in tight. When he wasn’t faced with that lethal trio, he was getting across to deny Beau Bennett with a nice stack job on a rebound. By no means is this his fault. Even though he allowed four goals on 27 shots, there’s not much else he could’ve done. At this point, you have to feel bad for him. Even Pens fans were admitting as such on Twitter.

In spite of being unable to mount anything, the Rangers still found themselves down one. Finally, someone made a play to beat Fleury. It’s no secret that Ryan McDonagh isn’t himself. There’s no way his left shoulder is right. Anyone who saw the hit he absorbed from Zac Rinaldo last round can see how badly he’s struggling. It hasn’t affected his skating or ability to pass the puck. He made a great outlet to Hagelin at the red line. The speedy Swede did the rest cutting in and beating Fleury with a nice wrist shot that tied it. It was only the Rangers’ second shot of the period.

Right away, Bylsma came back with his top line. They came oh so close to retaking the lead. That kind of coaching is why he’s remained behind the Pittsburgh bench. In a series against a good defensive team, he’s realized that keeping Crosby and Malkin together is the best way to get the upper hand. The Rangers have had no answer. Who would? So dynamic are they along with rover Kris Letang and Paul Martin that they’re wearing down our defensemen. It doesn’t matter if it’s McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Stralman or Marc Staal. They’ve all made glaring mistakes.

Despite facing constant pressure at even strength, the Rangers were still even late in the stanza. Malkin took an undisciplined offensive zone penalty when he tripped up Derick Brassard. It proved to be the turning point. With a rare chance to do something, they bungled the puck. Even with Kreider in front on a Nash shot from the perimeter, they didn’t do enough. That was magnified by a dreadful turnover from Nash. Facing back pressure coming out of his zone, he forced a backhand that Letang easily pushed ahead for Gibbons sending him on a break. With the crowd moaning, he fanned on the shot. With Lundqvist down, Sutter easily beat McDonagh for a tap in. The back breaking shorthanded goal at 18:27 resulted in plenty of jeers- sucking the life out of the building. In typical Ranger fashion, they went quietly on the rest of the 5-on-4.

The boo birds were out not only for Nash but for an invisible Martin St. Louis. Moved down to a line with Brad Richards and Hagelin, the former Hart winner managed only one shot in garbage time and had two egregious turnovers along with a weak back check that resulted in a crushing goal by Kunitz less than a minute after Zuccarello got them within one. Prior to that, the third was all Pens. At one point, they had eight of the first nine shots including a seeing eye turnaround from Jussi Jokinen that deflected off Staal’s skate past Lundqvist- extending to a 3-1 lead with 12:58 remaining. Jokinen has scored in all three Pens wins.

After killing off a Kreider high-sticking minor, it looked like the Rangers were done. With irate fans targeting Nash and St. Louis during shifts, there was little hope. Zuccarello made a great rush and shot to give them a chance. Off a Stralman outlet in the neutral zone, the diminutive forward gained the Pens zone and used his speed to get to the outside before sending a harmless backhander from a sharp angle that snuck by Fleury. The goal came with 6:53 left and awakened MSG.

Before they could get back to their seats, another dominant shift from Crosby and Malkin allowed Kunitz to bury one within 10 feet just 57 seconds later to restore order. On the play, a couple of things went wrong. McDonagh was unable to close out Malkin behind the net. A lazy St. Louis failed to take Kunitz, who could’ve had a sandwich before burying one past Lundqvist. It was P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C.

St. Louis has been a colossal bust. He hasn’t done enough to justify the Ryan Callahan trade. Just because he showed up for three games against a mediocre Flyers team doesn’t mean he gets off the hook. He’s been far worse than Nash, who at least is able to generate chances. Undeniably, I wasn’t a big fan of the trade. While I understood the rationale behind it, I preferred to go to war with the same core. Even if that meant losing Callahan for nothing, at least the former captain would’ve competed. In this series, St. Louis has looked old. Lucky for us that we have him for another year. 😛

Down by two, the Rangers didn’t stop attacking. The effort was there but they hardly mustered anything. A lousy four shots with essentially your season on the line speaks volumes. The issue is this. Even with an improved attack under Vigneault, they aren’t big or fast enough to make a dent against the supremely skilled Pens. It’s just a bad match-up. The Blue Jackets had enough size and grit to compete with them. But lacked necessary experience. Otherwise, we could be talking about a different series.

Game 5 is Friday in Pittsburgh. The Rangers can either go quietly or they can show some fight. In 2008, that roster under Tom Renney may have been overmatched but they dug deep scoring twice to force overtime before falling on a Marian Hossa goal. It’s up to them.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Kris Letang, Pens (assisted on Sutter’s SHG, +2 in 27:56-tremendous in every facet)

2nd Star-Sidney Crosby, Pens (2 assists, 10 for 15 on draws, +2 in 19:01-dominant)

1st Star-Evgeni Malkin, Pens (goal-5th, assist, +2 in 25 dominant shifts-19:59)