Brendan Smith not only didn’t hesitate, he couldn’t even wait for the question to end before answering.
“Yes, 100 percent,” the Rangers defenseman said after practice Friday when asked if players have to guard against trying to do too much when they’re in a rut like his team, now with a historically poor 1-5-2 start to the season, as the Stanley Cup-finalist Predators come to the Garden for a Saturday matinee.
“That’s the biggest thing, whenever you’re chasing something, that’s when you try to do too much,” Smith said. “And you get the KISS method — Keep it Simple, or Smart, however you want to talk about it. For sure, you don’t want to overdo it because you almost put yourself in a more hurtful position.”
So that is where the Rangers are, with rehashed acronyms and tired sayings about doing the right thing, because what else is there? They have gotten off to slow starts in almost every one of their games — allowing the first goal on the first shot of the game twice and on the third shot three times, including a 4-3 shootout loss Thursday to the Islanders at the Garden.
But why that is happening is hard to nail down except that the Rangers are just trying so darn hard not to let it happen that they’re getting in their own way.
“With the willingness of the individuals, it’s normal to want to be the difference maker, want to be out there, want to do a little more,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “We have to get them focused on the right things — short-shift hockey, make the right plays.”
In being asked to analyze their games and why things have gone awry, the Rangers are aware that talking about all the good things they’re doing — which are plentiful — sounds hollow in the wake of another loss. But it’s true there is a lot of good, especially with their resiliency to come back.
It’s also true none of that matters if it doesn’t result in wins coming soon.
“We’re a team that could easily give up the first goal and get down on ourselves and let the rest of the game slip away,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “But we’re hungry. We’re hungry for a win and it’s hurting just as much in here as it’s hurting everyone away from the rink.”
Shattenkirk was the big addition this offseason in general manager Jeff Gorton’s attempt to rebuild the back end. But it has been a slow adjustment for him and his blue-line mates, who still seem to try for that home-run pass that just isn’t there early in every game.
“Our defense is such a big part of how we play,” Vigneault said, “both to defend and offensively.”
Even as the Rangers stormed back from a 3-1 deficit against the rival Islanders, there were times when certain players were trying to do it all by themselves. The same could be said for coming back Tuesday against the Penguins and Saturday against the Devils. But there were comebacks in all three games, the results undercut by lapses in judgement when players were trying to do too much by themselves.
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“Our last three games at home, you can analyze them any way you want — New Jersey, Pittsburgh and [the Islanders], we played well,” Vigneault said. “We played against good teams and we played well. Could have been a different outcome. It’s not. Get back at it.”
This type of situation can also fracture teams from within, but that’s something these Rangers are adamant isn’t happening — at least, not yet.
“You look at our guys, you look at the attitude, nobody is pointing the finger or trying to blame anything,” Vigneault said. “We’re all working through this, we know it’s going to be challenging.”
But the only way out is with wins, and every game is another opportunity to start turning it around or to fall deeper into the abyss.
“It’s a fine line,” Vigneault said, “and right now we’re on the wrong side of that fine line.”