OK, we’re two games into the “new” roster with another game in Canada tonight. And the New York Rangers have won both games. The defense is still a mess but the spirit does seem to be back.

Ryan Spooner (from the Bruins) is doing amazing. Six assists and one goal in three games. He’s helped Hayes light a fire under him who is on a goal streak that hasn’t happened in I can’t remember how long.

The Vancouver game started amazing, 3-0 almost right off the bat. Two goals in the first two minutes. And then it fell apart and turned into a war that ended 6-5 in OT. 55 shots for Lundqvist, which is absurd. Last night 3-1 win with 50 more shots against. Hank was a man possessed this two fend that off, it was nuts. They managed to keep a lid on rebounds and turned it around to offense more against Calgary which shows in the score.

But the defense. 50 goals against cannot keep happening, it’s unsustainable. No goalie can keep dealing with that.

The games have been fun to watch though.

Ok, we’re on the other side of the trade deadline. A lot of moves have been made league-wide but there have been none as drastic as the New York Rangers. And we might as well be honest, it’s been long overdue. Patchwork pickups and hail mary trades didn’t work in seasons past so here we are since that tactic obviously doesn’t work for this organization.

After a terrible start, a recovery that went into some stumbles which have ended in a face plant of a season. The Rangers were simply not working as a team and the hit list of injuries made the deficiencies of the remaining players (namely the old guard that should have been able to step up) became obvious to everyone.

I mean, it all came to a head with our usual “lean on me” goalie Henrik Lundqvist collapsing under the weight of a terrible defensive line that hung him out to dry more times than you can count. He’s only one guy and hockey is a team sport. The turnovers got ridiculous and the unrelenting pressure finally got to Lundqist…he lost his professional composure. You could see him angry in games, he wasn’t able to move on from letting one get by him. One of the most reliable players on the team for basically ten years got fed up. That’s terrible.

So we’re smack dab in one of the worst losing streaks for the team in a long time. The head office putting out a public letter to fans saying a reorganization was starting with this trade deadline smacked the entire team upside the head. Their bosses didn’t believe in them anymore. That brought moral down and I think that contributed to the slide. Coming out and saying “brace yourself for what’s coming…we’re looking towards the future” will do that to anyone. And they weren’t kidding.

Here’s the list:

Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning for: forward Vladislav Namestnikov, a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, a conditional first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, forward prospect Brett Howden and defenseman prospect Libor Hajek.

Forward Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins for: forwards Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey, defenseman prospect Ryan Lindgren, a first-round pick in 2018 and a seventh-round pick in 2019.

Forward Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils for: a second-round pick in 2018 and defenseman prospect Yegor Rykov.

Defenseman Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins for: defenseman Rob O’Gara and a third-round pick in 2018.

That’s five NY Rangers gone. Nash and McDonagh are staples of the franchise. Them gone leaves very few of the old guard remaining. Miller, Grabner, Holden are much newer to the team.

Out of that list, Holden was the obvious one to go and the intent to get something for Nash wasn’t much of a secret. I’m really surprised at letting Miller go (I like him a lot, I think he has great potential) and that makes me wonder if they are going to stick with coach Alain Vigneault. It’s no secret that a ton of fans want him to be shown the door. A lot of blame can be put on him for letting problems fester (veterans continually playing like garbage) and not utilizing young talent (word is he and Miller didn’t get along).

These new players push the median age of the team way down. They said they wanted to rebuild and they did not lie. Many prospective players in there as well and what amounts to a ton of early draft picks. There was some serious wheeling and dealing done, the front office managed to get a lot in return for what they offered. Kudos on that.

My gut reaction is that this had to be done and was inevitable. Make moves now for what amounts to huge potential gains for the near future (I read serious Cup runs in 5 years from the people who do this conjecture for a living) instead of massive salary cap problems and zero growth for the foreseeable future. I’ve been watching this team for awhile so I have an attachment to the roster. It’s a major upheaval and the very, very, real potential of not making it to the playoffs (lol at Cup Finals) is a real dig at the soul after making 7 straight runs. It’s just gross.

So the new team plays for the first time tonight. The black fog of uncertainty of the trade deadline is gone and everyone can refocus. The coaching staff must be getting no sleep and practice must be nuts. There is so much to work on and figure out to get the new lines set up, I have no idea where they start on that. And with all of those high draft picks, if the front office borks that up, it will be their time at the guillotine.

The Rangers are currently 9 points out of the second playoff wildcard spot so it’s not yet mathematically impossible for them to make it in. I’d like to see them do it just so they can salvage the regular season. My take is that making the playoffs means you are a success. If you don’t, it’s a failure, you weren’t good enough to be considered a champion.

A lot has to go right for a wildcard spot but the biggest, and the only thing they can control is that the Rangers play as a team again.

1-5-1.

The Penguin game was won. Won! A terrible start followed by a second period opening rally to punish Sidney Crosby. A glorious 5-3 power play opportunity opens up to get a 2 goal lead and the Rangers completely blow it, letting Pen tie it up.

And then it all collapsed in a series of complete nonsense at the end of the third. First, a twist of physics to get stupid Crosby a game-tying goal. Then a bush league mistake in the first minute of overtime to lose.

Crushing. It’s mindboggling what’s going on. I can’t even imagine what the team’s headspace is like right now but they have to ignore it and go out and skate like there is no tomorrow to get out of this. There’s just the most bizarre decisions being made. High-risk low reward passing that goes nowhere or blows up in their face. Stop trying to make every goal a one-timer, you see a sliver of an opening, fire that puck on net. Quit waiting around for things to line up perfectly all the time. It’s like tar that’s weighing them down, it’s such a downer.  Not making the playoffs would be horrible.

1-5.

1-4. That is the actual record of the New York Rangers right now. It’s a spiral of history staining proportions that needs to be pulled out of right now. The team is just not working together well, the defense is still a problem. Shattenkirk is doing everything he can but he’s only one guy. Weird breaks against them are happening (deflection off a teammate into a goal last night) that they aren’t rebounding from.

The lines are constantly changing seemingly at a whim. Filip was sent to Hartford a week ago. The hype flew out the window in maybe 20 minutes of ice time for him. Some stability needs to be found and it ain’t coming from coach Alain Vigneault. He’s been given a lot of chances and I think his doomsday clock just started moving.

If they don’t beat the Devils tonight, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself.