NEW YORK, NY – For those of you hoping the Rangers and Knicks will put it together for a long run into June, this past weekend’s games should have dissuaded you from the that notion. The Four Nations NHL Tournament was great, but the level of intensity may make owners nervous to do it again anytime soon.
Nowhere Knicks
The ‘Bockers had a big double dip lined up against the two teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference. They got absolutely torched by the Cavs on Friday in a game that wasn’t as close as the 37-point margin of defeat. They hung around a bit longer against the Celts on Sunday, but they were never a serious threat to win the game.
In a best-case scenario, they get healthy, get Mitch Robinson back, and take a refresher course on how to play defense. But the Cavs and Celtics are on a collision course for the Eastern Conference and the Knicks don’t have the horses to stop that stampede.
Rangers in Danger
If you were looking to the Rangers for hope, there was little to be found. Not to be outdone, they were gob-smacked by the Sabres 8-2 in their first game back. Of note, the Sabres are currently last in the conference. The Rangers did manage to beat the Penguins on Sunday, but were severely outplayed and out-shot 39-15. They didn’t look much better than they did on Saturday, with the Penguins controlling long stretches of the game. The Rangers seemed to have very little interest in possessing the puck. The only difference was Igor.
Even if they manage to get into the playoffs, this is not a good team. Adam Fox looked like the slowest player in the Four Nations tourney. Fox, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Alexei Lafraniere, K’Andre Miller, Vincent Trocheck – basically all their key players – have all been lesser versions of themselves. Management should be focused on next year going into the March 7 trade deadline.
Four Nations Aftermath
The tournament was obviously great, but I’m not sure the owners are going to be lining up to do it again. With long term injuries to players like Matthew Tkachuck and Charlie McAvoy, and who knows how many smaller injuries like Trocheck’s broken finger, the price was steep for several teams.
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for Angry Ward, who rooted for Canada.
