As well as the Rangers have played this year; they have one glaring weakness that will stop them in the playoffs. They do not have a reliable goal scorer other than Jaromir Jagr. Yes, Petr Prucha has performed admirably, but he is only a rookie and tends to go hot and cold. Straka, Rucinsky and Rucchin are all talented, but they are better passers than finishers. When another team keys up to stop Jagr the Rangers are in trouble.
That’s exactly what happened Tuesday night when the Rangers lost 1-0. Tampa Bay kept Jagr contained and with Prucha managing only one shot on goal, the Rangers could not find their offense. Henrik Lundqvist continued his stellar play in goal, but Vaclav Prospal managed to bang the puck into the net with a little over a minute to go in OT.
Lundqvist is apparently the starting goalie for now and the Rangers will need him to carry them until they find more offense. At 22-12-6 they have exceeded expectations, but a 4-4-2 mark over their last ten has put them into second place with a critical matchup with the Flyers tomorrow night.
