Rangers drop opener, look to rebound today

It wasn't exactly the script they had in mind. When Marian Gaborik cashed in on a goal mouth scramble to steer the Rangers ahead 2-1 in yesterday's big Euro opener at The Globe, it looked like Henrik Lundqvist would win in his return home. Instead, Mike Richards had other ideas, netting the equalizer and setting up Jack Johnson's power play winner for a Kings' 3-2 overtime win.

For a first game, it was pretty good. Once the Blueshirts got the rust out and probably screamed at by John Tortorella following a pedestrian opening stanza, they were on even ground with a superb skating LA club that could be in contention in '11-12. The addition of Richards paid dividends with the ex-Flyer burning his former Patrick foe late- helping the Kings steal a point. His chemistry with LA captain Dustin Brown was evident as their aggressive cycle gave the Rangers problems early on. That along with only four shots was hardly the recipe for success. Still, following the only miscue from the 26th captain in Rangers history that led to Anze Kopitar's first, Ryan Callahan atoned when he snuck a shot from a bad angle through Jon Quick. It was just the beginning for the do everything Blueshirt who finished with a game high 11 shots. He was a one man wrecking crew, nearly setting up Mike Sauer in a better second for a potential go-ahead if the sophomore didn't shank it.

How dominant was Callahan? Perhaps he should be renamed SuperCally because on every shift with linemates Artem Anisimov and Ruslan Fedotenko, who supplanted the moved up Brandon Dubinsky, they created something. If Dubinsky is staying with Gaborik and freshly minted No.1 center Brad Richards, who came on late, then the pseudo second line must continue to have chemistry. Fortunately, they have SuperCally, who never takes a shift off. Even if his turnover on a shaky ice led to Justin Williams dishing across for Kopitar who easily beat Lundqvist. But there was Callahan responding less than five minutes later thanks to splendid work from Anisimov and Fedotenko along with a little luck.

Envigorated, the Rangers took the play to the Kings in the second, outshooting them 8-6. Callahan had nine of his club's dozen shots thru 40. The man just doesn't know the word quit. Tortorella also had to be pleased with a penalty killing unit that killed off the first four, including a pressure packed last two minutes to get to OT, following an iffy call on Brian Boyle. Callahan and Dubinsky did most of the work along with rock solid Dan Girardi, who was outstanding working with super soph Ryan McDonagh, who made several big defensive plays.

Earlier in the third, it looked like the Rangers would earn their first win of the new season when Gaborik cashed in thanks to a persistent Dubinsky, who took two hacks at a loose puck before it went to the open Slovak for a gimme. Speaking of Gaborik, he was good, also using his speed to generate quality chances- forcing Quick to make tough saves from in tight. Richards was a bit quiet but his play on the goal was instrumental, finding Dubinsky in the slot that steered the Rangers in front.

However, Mike Richards replied with 4:59 left in regulation when he beat Mike Del Zotto to the spot and neatly deflected home a Brad Richardson feed past Lundqvist. If Thursday was about a couple of former Kings sparking the his ex-team to a win over defending champ Boston, yesterday was all about Richards, who wasn't done, finding Jack Johnson on the doorstep for a power play decider with 52 seconds remaining in OT. McDonagh was off for a trip in the offensive zone. A marginal call at best but had to be made nonetheless cause he could've gotten a scoring chance.

Lundqvist finished with 27 saves in defeat while Quick turned aside 24 of 26. Today, the teams switch up with the Rangers battling the Ducks, who fell 4-1 to an improved Sabre squad, who will take on LA. All part of the NHL's showcase opening weekend. They do it again in less than an hour.

No early returns

Forget waiting until the end of the game. It's like watching the Flameout last night. Olli Jokinen and Marian Gaborik have no chemistry and the Rangers sure can't compete with the much bigger, faster Kings. A lot can be said about John Tortorella's boneheaded move putting five forwards out on a 5-on-4 power play, which predictably resulted in the Kings' best player Anze Kopitar scoring on a shorthanded breakaway. That Gaborik and Jokinen miscommunicated at the point leading to it spoke volumes. Just how many different pointmen can Tort try? You never stick five F's out unless it's 5-on-3.

There also was the bizarre line combo that had Chris Drury with Brian Boyle and Aaron Voros. Did the coach forget his med? Holy smokes. Look. Dru has been brutal this season but sticking him with two slugs is a total waste. Let our new bruiser Brandon Prust play with them on an energy line. He sure made his presence felt taking an undisciplined boarding minor and instigating a fight with Brandon Segal, earning a misconduct. Only 19 penalty minutes and fight No.19 for the kid with the fresh mohawk buzz cut donning Marek Malik's former No.(8). At least the guy wearing it will finish checks and keep fans awake.

Thanks to Marian Gaborik's fifth in three games- a nice tip-in of an Erik Christensen backhand pass- they're only down a goal with under a minute left trying to tie it. They probably won't tie it and don't deserve to. Ryan Callahan came close on a tip with 11.4 ticks left. What's with all the "Rangers Suck" chants? These Hollywood fakes are louder than Satan's worshippers. That faceoff was a joke as four seconds ran off before somehow the puck came to Drury, who was robbed by Jon Quick at the buzzer for LA's seventh consecutive win. Had they forced overtime, it would've felt wrong because that's how outplayed they were. Save me the whole MSG bs that they didn't give up. You could easily say the same for that Phoenix stinker where in typical Ranger fashion, they teased us. No wonder our own fans hate them.

Look. Nobody's saying Joke-inen is going to save this team because at the end of the day, there's not enough net presence and we're still stuck with Tinman and Woh-zsival. Until Glen Savior can find a sucker like Darryl Sutter for our two albatrosses, this team shall remain severely flawed. Yesterday, we had the half glass view praising the GM for ridding of Ally, saving three million. I too liked Higgs but he just couldn't finish. He can always be brought back over the summer. Highly unlikely. Jokinen's salary comes off setting us up to take a run at someone on July 1. Preferably a crease clearer. I'd like to see Slats try packaging Dan Girardi and a young forward to fill that void. But who's available? Of course, I'd kill for a high character guy like Robyn Regehr but he ain't going anywhere following the Phaneuf deal. He got off to a good start tonight against the suddenly reeling Devils, who just aren't the same minus Patrik Elias.

The Pluses from tonight and there weren't many:

A.Henrik Lundqvist was very sharp following the six day layoff. Don't be fooled by the 19 saves as many were high quality.

B.Gaborik continued to finish. You know what they say about goalscorers. Get one and they usually break out. That's five for the Great Gabby on the road trip giving him 34 on the season. Whatever happened to all those punch lines about his durability? Whether he can mesh with Jokinen remains to be seen.

C.The PK went for 3-for-3 against a potent LA power play that burned the Devils. No small task.

D.Brandon Prust. He needs to be a little smarter but boy can he be a breath of fresh air for the Garden Faithful.

The Negatives:

A.The coach stunk. Weird lines. Way too many combos. Idiotic coaching on the PP cost them the game's first goal. For a guy who won a Cup, some of his decisions are quite baffling. Granted. He had a lot more to work with in Tampa. But come on!

B.Jokinen was caught out for both goals against finishing with zero points, 4 SOG and a minus-two in 20:34. Also found no chemistry with Gaborik whose goal came with waiver steal Christy out there.

C.Does this team practice the power play? Isn't Tort supposed to be an offensive mind? They've gone completely backwards. Just do us a favor and decline it!

D.Shoot The Puck! Seri---ous---ly, they were stuck on 12 shots after 40 minutes. Last night, Calgary had 10 en route to 18 in a listless performance. At least this wasn't on home ice because they would've gotten booed out of the building. How many times can our guys overpass. It's like they still have Jagr Syndrome. I expect it from Woh-zsival. But the rest of ya should know better.

E.Lack of crease presence. It's something that's plagued this vanilla cream custard soft serve club for years. I get that the LA blueline is very good, making Quick's life easy with All-Star Drew Doughty, Rob Scuderi and Jack Johnson leading the charge. But is it too much trouble to ask one of our players to get the uniform a little dirty? Saw Slats' interview and he better not be done!

F.No Pushback. Let's face it. Our D is soft as molasses and should be sponsored by Hostess. I wonder why they haven't gotten them yet on one of those cheesy glass advertisements. Marc Staal's the only one who really competes but even he's not that strong in front of his own net. He's really turned around his year and also did some nice things keeping plays alive in the offensive end, leading to an early Jokinen opportunity with the game scoreless. But outside of him, there's nothing. Both Tinman and Woh-zsy are incapable. Though Michal at least can break up plays. Girardi is inconsistent. At times, he makes solid reads and even uses the body and then there are instances where he passes the puck up the middle like tonight which lead to glorious chances. Matt Gilroy's not that kind of player and DZ's still a pup who at least throws the body consistently. But it takes time to develop. Honestly, they should give Heineken, Sangs and Sauer another look. I know it's not happening. But that's what I'd do.

Don't forget Thursday, our heroes return to host Ovechkin and the sizzling Caps, who are only winners of 11 straight following tonight's 4-1 win over the inept B's. As my Dad said:

"That should be cute."

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (19 saves incl.10/11 in 2nd in return)
2nd Star-Jack Johnson, LA (3 missed shots, 2 blocked shots, +2 in 19:22)
1st Star-Anze Kopitar, LA (1st SHG of season, 3 SOG, 7 attempted, 2 hits in 24:49)