After a while, you just run out of adjectives of derision.
The last metaphor of value is that of a cat playing with a mouse, tormenting it, teasing it, until finally ending the torture out of sheer boredom.
Such is the state of affairs of playing t
he New York Rangers. Once gain, the Pittsburgh Penguins played with the mouse just long enough to become bored and then quickly ended the affair in a 4-2 win on Tuesday night.
“I think it was really the tale of two games,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said. “I thought the first 30 minutes, they completely took it to us. … Then all of a sudden, the whole thing changed from our end. I thought we did a much better job sustaining zone time, creating some chances for ourselves. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than we wanted it to.”
Other coaches have lost their jobs this season for far less egregious coaching.
Tristan Jarry made 33 saves in the win.
“[Jarry] was solid in the third,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I don’t think we had our best period in the third, and he made some big saves for us, particularly in the last two and a half minutes of the game … He was big when we needed him to be. That’s part of winning in this league.”
Jack Johnson and Ryan Strome were the only scorers for an inept and unprepared Rangers team that would be better represented by the Hartford Wolf Pack from the American Hockey League.After the Rangers took yet another 1-0 lead, the opposition replied emphatically.
“You obviously want to put your best effort out there,” Strome said. “I thought the second half of the game, we were much better. Goals at the end of the first and second period kind of killed us a little bit. I thought a much better effort than the night before, but unfortunately, when you’re chasing this team and you lose both, it’s frustrating. There’s not much we can take away from this one in terms of feeling good.”
This time Jake Guentzel tied it up at 1-1, and the Pens added two more goals for a 3-1 lead.
Teddy Blueger had a shorthanded goal (of course) for the Pens and
Kasperi Kapanen also scored for Pittsburgh.
Sidney Crosby added an empty-net goal to make the score more glaringly ugly.
“They’re all important. Every night and every team in this division is competitive,” Crosby said. “You see the scores every night. Anyone can beat anyone. We need to worry about ourselves and playing the right way, and that has served us well this last little bit.” 
Keith Kinkaid made 23 saves in the loss.
“Four or five times, they’ve come from behind to beat us in close ones,” the Rangers’ Chris Kreider said. “They cost us enough the other night. So at the end of the day, we have to find a way to get those two points.”
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