Someone other than Henrik needs to step up
Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers makes a glove save on the puck in front of Kyle Turris #7 of the Ottawa Senators in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. (April 18, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
OTTAWA
The Rangers' hero, all year long, has been obvious to everyone. Henrik Lundqvist has been their MVP, The King, and he has carried his team to victory early and often, including in Game 3 here two nights earlier.
But the thing in the playoffs, especially when a game gets to overtime like Wednesday night's Game 4 did, is that you can't just rely on your goaltender to win you a game. You need a hero.
The Rangers needed one of their guys not named Hank to step forward. For the second time in three games, it was a guy in a Senators jersey, Kyle Turris this time, just 2:42 into OT.
The Rangers needed a hero. What they got is a best-of-three series to see if the 51 wins and 109 points this season made them a team to beat or a team that, at a time when heroes are discovered, has no one to step forward.
John Tortorella liked a lot of what his team did Wednesday night. There was the quick 2-0 lead, two power-play goals to quiet the vocal crowd here. Even after the Senators broke through and tied it, the third period belonged to the Rangers for long stretches.
Even the first 90 seconds of overtime was the Rangers' dominion as they cycled below the goal line and forced Senators goaltender Craig Anderson to be on his toes.
Anderson has been forced to play second fiddle to Lund- qvist this series, but the Ottawa goaltender isn't so far behind. His play, like Lundqvist's, kept it tied until someone could win it.
That wasn't someone in a Rangers jersey. Marian Gaborik assisted on both goals, but he was a non-factor at even strength, bullied off his game for a third time since he scored a key goal in Game 1.
"We still need some more guys involved," Tortorella said, not naming any names.
He didn't have to. Gaborik had a terrific season with 41 goals, but the physical play of this series has left him on the perimeter too often. Dubinsky's season-long scoring woes still are evident, even if he mixes it up with opponents on every shift.
The Rangers, as Tortorella often has said, are the sum of their parts. It is the identity that the coach craved, that his team perfected over a season that was successful beyond anyone's thoughts.
But when your best player is your goaltender and your best asset is the desire to sacrifice for the greater good, there's still a void in the postseason.
You need a hero, someone not named Henrik Lundqvist, and the Rangers haven't found theirs yet.
But they will have to as the series shifts back to Madison Square Garden Saturday night.
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