Goal With Five Left to Play Ends Rangers Season

Blueshirts lose Game Seven to Capitals 2-1

By JOSH ALPER

Updated 11:04 PM EST, Tue, Apr 28, 2009

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For the first two periods of Tuesday night's Game Seven, the Rangers held the high-scoring Capitals virtually in check. They did it by throwing themselves in front of shots, finishing their checks and pressuring the puck. That was the kind of effort that was missing in Games Five and Six, passionless productions that forced the winner-take-all contest, and it was clear the Rangers were leaving everything on the ice.

The problem was that they couldn't open up the offense for fear of allowing the Capitals too many chances. The Capitals, on the other hand, did just that in the third period. They took 13 shots to just one for the Rangers, and one of those shots proved to be the difference in the series. Sergei Fedorov blasted a puck over Henrik Lundqvist's glove with five minutes to play, and the Rangers were finished.

The Capitals knew it too, and they kept the pressure on for the final five minutes. The Rangers could barely get the puck out of the zone and were never able to pull Lundqvist to add another attacker for a final push. In the end, it was the superior talent of the Capitals that tipped the scales in their favor. The entire third period felt like just a matter of time before the Rangers cracked, so it wasn't surprising that they ultimately did.

They can go off for the summer feeling a little better about going down with a fight, but blowing a 3-1 lead and playing so poorly in two elimination games is something that will linger. There was a large talent gap between the teams, yet the Rangers gave the series away by playing stupid, lifeless hockey. That's much worse than just getting outplayed.

In a way, the effort on Tuesday night was more damning, because it proved that the Rangers simply chose not to give their all every night. That's a question of leadership that needs to be addressed in the offseason.

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.