This is what it looks like when a powerhouse team decides to flex its metaphorical muscle against one of the NHL’s most vulnerable squads.
This is what the snapshot of the 2019-20 Rangers looks like when Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast are out of the picture.
It looks like it did through the guts of the Bruins’ 7-4 victory at the Garden on Sunday night in which the young and green Blueshirts were manhandled and throttled by the Big Bad B’s, most decidedly during a second period in which the home team was outscored 4-0, went without a shot for 10:26 and were out-attempted at five-on-five 23-5.
There is no excuse for no-showing, but there is some explanation for the way it all spun out of control once Boston erased a 1-0 deficit with a Brad Marchand score from in front at 11 seconds of the second with Henrik Lundqvist down and helpless after David Pastrnak’s knee caught the King in the side of the helmet as he hurtled over (or was tripped by) Libor Hajek after beating Jacob Trouba wide to the net from the left-wing boards.
Zibanejad was gone by that time with an upper-body injury incurred on a blow to the chest from Patrice Bergeron with 2:47 remaining in the first period. Fast hadn’t suited up, a late scratch for personal reasons. Hence, the Rangers simply had no chance against the Bruins’ imposing Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak top unit that is likely the best line in the league.
It didn’t matter just which pair or what line David Quinn sent out to try and contend with Bergeron’s unit. Trouba was minus-three. Hajek, the rookie who’d been a bright spot, was minus-four. Bergeron recorded a hat trick, the final of his goals into an empty net. Marchand had two goals and three assists. Pastrnak had five assists.
The young team was bullied and exposed by a veteran team that has as good a chance as any team in the league to capture the Cup that got away last year after losing Game 7 at home to the Blues after having taken a 3-2 series lead in the final.
This is the state of the Rangers in this very early stage of the rebuild. And at this point, really, even if Zibanejad (“day-to-day”) is down for a while, you have to wonder whether it would be beneficial for Filip Chytil to be recalled and fill a top-six role here as opposed to remaining in Hartford, where the Wolf Pack are 8-0-0-1.
Because — and perhaps this is an overreaction to a bad, bad night on which a confluence of circumstances acted against the Rangers, but perhaps not — playing these kids against men could be detrimental to their mental health. And even if the Blueshirts could use help on the blue line, is this what you’d want to throw Ryan Lindgren into and expect him to succeed/develop? Here’s one: Kaapo Kakko, minus-four while looking out of place.
“For me, I don’t really look into it that deeply,” Trouba said when asked if he felt his inexperienced teammates lost confidence during the second-period onslaught. “We need to cut down on our mistakes, including me, and we need to learn.
“Everybody needs to get a little better.”
True that, but can players truly learn when overmatched the way the Rangers were in this one?
Hajek, the 21-year-old rookie who entered the season with five NHL games credited to his résumé, has been a bright spot. He is always willing to engage and take a hit to make a play. He has moved the puck reasonably well. He tries to defend and play his position.
But this one … oh, boy. It bears repeating:. In one corner, Hajek. In the other, Bergeron. And/or Pastrnak. And/or Marchand.
“I tried to [prepare] and play against them not thinking about how great that line is. That would have made it harder,” Hajek told The Post. “I just wanted to play my game and play defense. It was a tough game. They proved that they are the best line in the league.
“But I am going to watch the video and see my mistakes and what I could have done better. Sometimes, bad things end up being good if you learn from them. That’s what I’m going to do.”
These are the Rangers, thin to begin with, young in critical spots, not particularly fast, not particularly rugged. This is the rebuild. This is the snapshot.