Stars 10 - Rangers 2

Every now and again, an NHL team will have an bad night, and allow a double digit total of goals against. Last night, this was the fate of the New York Rangers. Now a 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the resurgent Dallas Stars is one thing, but looking deeper into this story there seems to be a victim. 31 year old Rangers netminder Stephen Valiquette. The 6'6" goalie is the back-up for Vezina candidate Henrik Lundqvist and has a total of 37 NHL starts under his belt (despite being in the league for 7 years with various NHL teams). In the 36 NHL games he has played, excluding last night, he has allowed 67 goals and held a very respectable 1.86 GAA (Goals Against Average).

The beef I have regarding last nights game sits squarely with Rangers head coach Tom Renney because he opted to leave his back-up goaltender in for all 10 goals against. The Broadway Blueshirts are in a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference as six points separate the 5th place Rangers and the 10th place Hurricanes. It's one thing to give up on the game and ignore the tight standings, but what impact does this have on the confidence of the young 'tender? Why didn't Lundquvist come off the bench and attempt to stop the bleeding?

When I realized what Tom Renny had done, I couldn't help but think back to Dec 2, 1995. On that fateful night, the Detroit Red Wings were in Montreal to face the Canadiens. The Wings handed the Habs their worst home loss in team history with a final score of 12-1. Patrick Roy allowed 5 goals on 17 shots in the first, and coach Mario Tremblay left Roy in for the second period as a form of humiliation. The faithful fans at the Montreal Forum offered mock cheers whenever Patrick would make a save, and after giving up 9 goals on 26 shots in the second period, Roy was finally pulled. Upon reaching the bench, Roy immediately made his way to the Canadiens Team president and said "This is my last game in Montreal."

Four days later, Roy was traded to Colorado in what French Canadians refer to as "Le Trade".

Watch the video

Now I'm not saying Valiquette is in any way comparable to Roy as far as goaltenders are concerned, but I don't see any reason to leave a goaltender in a game for 10 goals against. What was Tom Renney thinking? Why not make the move to Henrik Lundqvist? I've watched Valiquette play, and the guy was just having an off night, all athletes have them, but why amplify it by hanging him out to dry?

I guess only Tom Renney knows the answers to those questions.