Last night was a fluke. An aberration. What happened in the first 5 minutes of last night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks does not happen to this Ranger team.
But it did. And us fans should just wipe it from our memory. Our team is allowed to have this one. Granted, it was only the worst 5 minutes this team has played all year. But considering where they are and what they have accomplished this year, they have earned a pass.
Also considering for the next 55 minutes, we won the game 2-0. And we had another apparent goal stolen from us because the referee lost sight of the puck. That goal could've swung the moment our way even further and who knows what might have happened.
This Ranger's team has played their hearts out so far this season. Being the pessimist that I am, and considering the teams history since I graduated high school (1994), I have watched this team all year with a gut wrenching angst. Waiting for the wheels to fall off at any moment. Insistently nervous that their next mistake is just going to unwind this team and send them spiraling down the standings.
And when the wheels fell off last night in the first five minutes, I had such a sense of calm come over me. I didn't think the sky was falling. Like Coach Torts has said so many times this year, "He trusts this team." I trust this team.
They were tired. They came out flat against a hungry opponent. The Blackhawks were pumped to play at MSG. You could see it right from the start. They were determined to not get embarrassed by losing their tenth straight game. They had not won at The Garden in almost a decade.
And the Ranger were coming off a brutal stretch of games played, answering the bell in each game against division rivals.
And poor Marty Biron. He received absolutely no help for his team in the first five minutes last night. Three of the four goals were breakaways, including a Penalty Shot in the first minute and 2 seconds of the game. And the other goal he let in, he had a 6'8" monster on skates standing in front of the crease screening him. Not one Ranger tried to muscle the monster out of Biron's way. The King would have been hard pressed to not let in atleast 2 or 3 of the 4 goals.
