NEW YORK – The way the Rangers mailed in their 6-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, they owe all 18,200 fans a refund.
Take it out of each of their paychecks because a game like this is just unacceptable.
Sure, after the game, each Ranger was saying how their play was a disgrace, but the loyal Garden fans deserve more from this. If the Rangers don’t want to compete at home, the fans need something for their efforts.
And Giant-like apologies just won’t do it.
“There was nothing good about the game,” said center Brandon Dubinsky. “I’m not going to hide under a rock, though.”
Fine, they all were there in the dressing room after the match fielding answers to the questions. Each Ranger, though, has a certain responsibility to come in and play hard every night, especially at home. They owe the fans that. To do any less is a disgrace to the uniform they wear and tarnishes every great who wore the Ranger sweater since 1926.
“Everyone had a bad game on the same night,” Christopher Higgins said when asked about the game, but this is more than that, you have to wonder why the Rangers performed like this, especially after the mockery of a game just two weeks ago against the Islanders.
After that game, John Tortorella was livid, but tonight was more reserved.
“If we have to go with a coach losing his mind making an idiot out of himself every five games then we are beating our heads against the wall,” Tortorella said. “It can’t be that way. We have to find some consistency. I think we played pretty well Islander game.
“Guys, I am being honest with you, I don’t have an answer on why we played the game tonight the way we did. I thought we practiced well, I thought we got enough rest and they were in good spirits. I just don’t know why.”
Neither do the 18,200 fans, all of whom deserve their money back. At least they got treated to the NHL debut of Chad Johnson, the 23 year-old backup goalie, who stopped 17 of 20 shots on the night after coming in for Henrik Lundqvist to start the second period. Although Simon Gagne was able to score on the first shot Johnson faced, thanks to a turnover by Dubinsky, the rookie hung in there.
“I thought he settled in, made some good saves,” Tortorella said. “It’s a tough position for a kid to come into his first game into this storm or whatever you call it.”
Fortunately the Rangers are able to play tomorrow, so they won’t have to sit and mull over this game. And maybe they can ring out this bad 2009 with some sort of win and maybe put this game behind them.
And maybe the fans will forget this game too.
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