It was more of the usual from the Rangers,as far as first periods go, last night in San Jose. Again, the Rangers started a contest unprepared for their opponent. It led to numerous mistakes in front of the Ranger goal as well as an almost surprised look from most Rangers that they were being hit at all times. The Sharks zeroed in on the Rangers by putting 3 players in front of Henrik. With superior passing by moving the puck side to side from in front of the slot and utilizing their point men , The Sharks outmanned the Rangers in the Rangers zone at will. The speed of the Sharks passing game was the difference. Not skating speed . But passing speed. This can only be created when players have a trust for each other to be where they are supposed to be. It created penalties which led to Shark goals.
The Rangers have few players that can match the Sharks puck movement skills. Zherdev is one of them . He played a great game. And was able to compete during the early parts of the game when the Sharks were playing at full throttle. The Sharks won every face off it seemed. Naslund looked lost tonight. I thought Redden stepped up a bit. for this one.
The face offs killed the Rangers. They had only 15 shots on goal through 2 periods. The Rangers were able to turn on the possession game in part of the third because the Sharks pulled back and dared the Rangers to score. I don't know why the Sharks pulled back. I dont agree with it.
The Rangers need to figure out why they have bad first periods.
Can't argue with your analysis of the game.The Rangers slow starts and inability to provide consistent offense was and is problem for this team time and time again.
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