Friday, February 1, 2013
How Ranger PP copes sans captain
By Doug McIntyre
The New York Rangers' power play struggled mightily during the first few games of this lockout-shortened season, but the Blueshirts seemed to be emerging from their man-up slump in recent wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers.
Then Ryan Callahan got hurt.
The Rangers' captain had scored two of the team's three goals on the power play this season before injuring his shoulder in a scrap with Philly's Maxime Talbot on Tuesday. Without Callahan, New York went 0-4 and managed just five shots on the man-advantage in Thursday's 3-0 home loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
How can the club cope for the remaining five or six games Callahan is expected to miss? Defenseman Dan Girardi insists it's not about replacing Callahan's presence in front of the net. “We got [Taylor] Pyatt there, we can put [Brian] Boyle there," Girardi tells Howard Kussoy of the New York Post. "I don’t think it matters who is in front, we just have to shoot the puck and make a couple plays and open up a lane and get the puck to the net.”
