Did fatigue play a factor in the Rangers' brutal Game 5 loss to the Hurricanes on Monday night?
Major league hockey takes a huge physical toll on players over an 82-game season and even more so during the playoffs.
With that in mind it's worth considering that the Rangers last two losses in the tourney with Carolina has as much to do with the New Yorkers fatigue factor as much as the opponents' strength.
It's one thing for Breadman Panarin doing a sleepwalker imitation in one game but two in a row? Is Artemi feeling playoff pressure? Or do the Canes just have his number?
But the problem isn't limited to one man. Igor Shesterkin had to make only 24 saves last night, a seemingly soft workout for him yet he blew the game on a stoppable Jordan Staal shot.
Staal, by the way, is a genuine captain-leader. His Rangers counterpart, Jacob Trouba, scored the only Rangers goal and allowed that "We have a couple of cracks (at ending the series.) We'll play a better game down there."
No, sir, not if your club continues to display what my reporter-pal Patrick Hoffman called "a lack of urgency."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPP4ojqJBkY[/embed]
Please tell The Maven because, frankly, how can the Rangers have "a lack of urgency" with a full house yearning for a series-ender? Were they so full of themselves that they believed that they could win in second gear? Gimme a break!
Are Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox suddenly feeling the effects of old-age? Or just getting two bum games out of their system?
For The Maven's money, the most ironic aspect of the series has been the abrupt turnaround from New York's 3-0 lead to the present 3-2 edge.
When it was 3-0 for the Rangers, the New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro accurately wrote that the Canes "look like dead men walking."
During the past two games the Blueshirts looked like they were skating in mud.
But even then, how can you not "lack urgency?"
The answer will be available on Thursday in Raleigh.
Hint: Prepare for a Game Seven!