Kovacevic: Answer the Rangers' filth with a firm, happy handshake

NEW YORK -- Just take out the trash.

Yeah, think of it that way, and maybe it helps.

It was midway through the third period of Game 5 of this first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on this Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, one that the Rangers would claim by a 5-3 count, the teams were separated by a single goal, the latter was facing elimination, and the tension should have been pulsating through that old Tupperware roof on that compelling criteria.

And yet, in its stead, there was Evgeni Malkin skating across the rink toward the penalty box, a solo spectacle with no one near him, his helmet just having been ripped off his head by New York's Ryan Lindgren, after which the two proceeded to pound each other for a full minute while prone on the ice.

Geno's solo skate is the scene captured in the striking shot atop this column by Getty photographer by Jared Silber.

And all I could think in looking down at the scene myself from the press box: This is trash.

All of it.

Two nights earlier, back in Pittsburgh, Gerard Gallant, the Rangers' old-school coach who's never seen a skilled player in whom he didn't want to infuse a mid-1970s dose of snarl, had ripped his players. And not without cause, as they'd just been pasted in Games 3 and 4 while giving up a combined two touchdowns.

But that wasn't enough. Gallant also called his players' performance "soft." Then he repeated it. Then again, all in the same quote. And for good measure, he'd add it a fourth time later in the press conference.

Which led, without a doubt, to Gallant bag-skating his players at the Rangers' practice here the next day, reviving a punitive relic one would've thought went out with Fred Shero or Mike Keenan.

Which led, without a doubt, to multiple players -- including Jacob Trouba -- openly echoing their coach about the value of a harder, more direct approach.

Which led, without a doubt, to Trouba ramming a flagrantly raised elbow into the head of Jake Guentzel in the first period of this Game 5:

Which led, without a doubt, to Trouba doing the same to Sidney Crosby midway through the second:

Too conspiratorial for everyone?

All right, go ahead and name the series' leading goal-scorer with seven, including two more popped here.

Yep, Guentzel.

Now, go ahead and name the series' top scorer, as well as one of the top scorers in these playoffs as a whole.

Yep, the living legend, the preeminent star of his generation and the first-class human who's now categorized as having an "upper-body injury," as it was termed afterward by Mike Sullivan, one that's in all likelihood bound to be concussion-based.

Now, go ahead and name the New York defenseman who, although an oversized teddy bear during his years in Winnipeg, suddenly became a brute under Gallant this season and already drew notice around the hockey world for two equally vicious high hits this past December:

Both of those, although delivered with the same raised-elbow approach with which he assaulted Sid and Jake -- known within the sport as a 'chicken-wing' -- came with zero supplemental discipline from the oxymoronic entity that is the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

Now, for the final step of this exercise, go ahead and name all of the lesser players Trouba attacked in Game 6.

Well, all right, he did take one swipe at Evan Rodrigues' head, though whiffing, but that's it. The rest hit where it hurt the most.

Yet another amazing coincidence.

Want to know what Mike Sullivan thought of Trouba on Sid?

Here are all six seconds of it:

I'll say this out loud since the league won't let him or any coach or executive speak their minds ...

This.

Is.

Trash.

It's a trash way to play.

It's a trash way to coach.

And, as we'll all see again soon enough when the fossilized protectors of the game flick away this infraction like all the others -- mark my words, Trouba won't even have a hearing -- it's a trash way to run a league.

Everyone in all seven active series will have, once again, a green light to head-hunt ... as a tactic. With no worries about missing any time. With no worries about extra punishment related to the victim's prominence or importance to his team. With no worries about being embarrassed publicly or exposed as some predatory hitter since the NHL silences criticism on its national broadcasts, has chummy relationships with national writers and wouldn't ever get a peep from its biggest media market, since New York reporters somehow went four minutes, 41 seconds with Gallant -- separate room -- and never asked about the Trouba hit.

Gallant was asked what impact Sid's departure might've had on the outcome, and he responded, "Well obviously, he’s one of the best players in the world, so, you know, they still had some chances, they still created a lot. He’s a great player for them and, hopefully, he’s OK."

Mm-hm.

There'll be no hearing for Trouba, no fine, and definitely no suspension. No matter what's learned about Sid's status over the next 24-48 hours, Trouba's going to report to PPG Paints Arena for Game 6 as if not a thing happened.

It's sickening. It's been sickening forever for those of who love this beautiful sport, and it never stops being that.

So, what to do about it?

____________________

Well, for one, finish the task at hand.

Meaning, when holding a 2-0 lead most of the way through the second period and having suffocated the opponent at every turn ... you know, don't cough up three goals in a 2:42 span:

Yikes.

"They got a lot of energy from the crowd, but we've got to find a way kind of getting back on our toes again," Marcus Pettersson replied when I asked about this sudden surge. "That's when we're at our best, not sitting back and and defending but when we’re on our toes and forechecking and skating."

Also, after countering with Jake's second goal just 13 seconds after the Rangers had taken the lead ... you know, get a good, or even routine save from the goaltender:

Yikes again.

That'll look like a sharp snipe from Filip Chytil, and, in fairness, he does well to whirl around and fire with authority off what Teddy Blueger correctly called "kind of a broken play." But that shot finds the center of the net behind Louis Domingue, not any corner, and that just can't happen with a tied score in the third period of an elimination game.

There's no reporter who's comfortable discarding a good story, but, to continue the buzzkilling I've done on this front throughout this series, Domingue's been largely lousy, with a 3.56 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.

I'm not about to shove Tristan Jarry's broken foot into a skate, but I'm OK reiterating that he looked healthy enough to take NHL shots in the optional skate before Game 5. And if he can handle the discomfort, it shouldn't be out of the question that he'd return for a Game 7, if not Game 6.

Same goes for Rickard Rakell, who skated again and who'd really come in handy with the potential loss of Sid within the top-six.

Five steps I'll prescribe regardless:

5. Get over it.

"You can't dwell on it. You just move on," Blueger would say of the Penguins' ideal attitude after this disappointment/deflation, coupling the loss of the game with the loss of the captain. "Go get the next one."

Honestly, it felt like they did that in this one. I believed all of the players who insisted they weren't unplugged by seeing Sid go off.

"You're just so in the moment," was how Blueger put it.

They'll have to keep it that way.

4  Make some stops.

Doesn’t matter who. The list can’t be long of teams that advance through any round with a .900 save percentage at the most important position. If Jarry’s able to beat .900 by propping himself up, then prop away.

3. Keep defending.

I'm willing to chalk up those three miserable minutes, as Pettersson and others did, to the Rangers simply waking up and rolling for a bit. But the fact remains, the period and a half the Penguins put together before that were a defensive clinic. 

That's the template. That's it.

"Oh, yeah," Guentzel came back when I brought that up. "We've just gotta make sure we play a full 60. I thought we played a pretty good game tonight and, even after they had their goals, we go out at the second to tie it up, and it's a 20-minute game from there. We've just got to make sure we go the whole way. And we're excited to go back home and play in front of our fans again."

Granted, Sid's been a massive part of the defending, too. But replacing the offense is the priority.

2. Keep Geno producing.

Sure, he had his goofy moment or two, as he tends to do when there's a little bit of the old ultra-violence at hand. That was a whopper of a dumb penalty to take with eight minutes left in regulation for roughing, quashing a scoring chance for Jake he'd set up himself. And miles away from the puck.

But he also set these two tables ...

... and competed relentlessly.

He's shown a propensity in the past to elevate when Sid's out, even embracing it in a respectful way. This can't be an exception. Beast-mode or bust.

"Well, Geno's a generational talent, a real capable guy, and I thought he had a strong game tonight," Sullivan replied when asked how it'd go at center if Sid's out. "You know, we feel like we're deep at that position. And we have what it takes to win regardless of who's in our lineup. You know, that combination, Sid and Geno, have been two of the best in the league for 15-plus years. And when one of them's out, the other one steps up. That's been my experience since I've been here. And depending on what happens moving forward, I'm sure Geno will bring his best."

Almost sounds like Sullivan already knows Sid's out, huh?

Sorry, just had to add that.

But look, if Geno can make it work with Jake and Bryan Rust, wingers with whom he's richly familiar, it's reasonable to expect that the first line will keep being a force. So the onus then would go to the still-struggling Jeff Carter, Jason Zucker, Danton Heinen, etc., to add one a goal here or there.

1. Shake some freaking hands.

Firmly. With chin up, chest out, a broad but knowing smile ... and maybe squeeze a tad tighter when it's Trouba's turn.

Oh, and be sure to break down all boxes, tie up all bags, and leave it all out at curbside.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule

THE THREE STARS

As selected at Madison Square Garden:

1. Filip Chytil, Rangers C
2. Alexis Lafrenière, Rangers LW
3. Ryan Lindgren, Rangers D

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• Tristan Jarry, goaltender, is out with a broken bone in his foot. His status is day-to-day. He participated in the optional skate here before Game 6, his first team activity.

• Rickard Rakell, forward, is out with a head injury. His status is day-to-day. He participated again in the skate.

• Brian Dumoulin, defenseman, is out with a lower-body injury. His status is day-to-day. He's yet to resume skating.

• Casey DeSmith, goaltender, is done for the season after having core muscle surgery last Friday.

THE LINEUPS

Sullivan’s lines and pairings:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Heinen-Malkin-Kapanen
Zucker-Carter-McGinn
Boyle-Blueger-Rodrigues

Matheson-Letang
Pettersson-Marino
Friedman-Ruhwedel

And for Gallant's Rangers, who went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen:

Kreider-Zibanejad-Vatrano
Panarin-Strome-Copp
Lafreniere-Chytil-Kakko
Rooney-Reaves

Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Braun-Schneider
Nemeth

THE SCHEDULE

The practice schedule for Friday was canceled. The team spent the night here and will fly home Friday for a day off. There'll be a video media availability of some sort this afternoon.

THE CONTENT

Visit our team page for everything.