Rangers left with feelings of 'What if?
Olli Jokinen #12 of the New York Rangers checks Simon Gagne #12 of the Philadelphia Flyers. (April 11, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA - The what-ifs were there right after the Rangers' 2-1 shootout loss to the Flyers Sunday.
What if someone else had taken the third-round attempt in the shootout instead of Olli Jokinen, who had played only 11:30? What if Ryan Callahan and Sean Avery hadn't suffered knee injuries? What if the Rangers had been better in games in which they went past regulation, instead of 4-11? What if the Rangers had played better at home, instead of 18-17-6? What if they had picked up an extra point or two in the previous 81 games?
"If we'd had some consistency throughout the year, we wouldn't be in this spot," captain Chris Drury said. "We're obviously pretty disappointed to come down to a shootout the last game of the year, to get knocked out from that. Again, I think we feel really bad for Henrik. One of the best games I ever saw him play."
Henrik Lundqvist, who played in 73 games, finished 34-27-10. "Going to the shootout,'' he said, "I was pretty beat up . . . I was dead tired."
Torts doesn't 'whine'
Coach John Tortorella, who has condemned the shootout as an inappropriate way to decide games - much less a playoff spot - held his fire Sunday.
"Both teams go through it," he said. "I'm certainly not gonna whine. Honestly, when it got down to that, I thought we had the advantage. Henrik was terrific today, but when it got down to it, it didn't work out."
Blue notes
The 87-point finish was the worst for the Rangers since the 69-point campaign in 2003-04 . . . Defenseman Marc Staal, the Rangers' top restricted free agent, who is expected to be signed to a long-term contract this summer, played a game-high 29:16 . . . D Dan Girardi, another RFA, played 26:04.
