It would certainly be easy for the Rangers to blame the officials for their falling down 0–2 in their series against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. A slew of questionable calls in both Games 1 and 2 gave the Pens numerous power play opportunities they shouldn’t have had. And the time the Rangers spent killing off those penalties no doubt had a deleterious effect on their overall performances in the first two games of this series.

In particular, Crosby’s unnerving tendency to flop to the ice at the slightest contact not only undermines the credibility of the league’s hardworking officials, but it also threatens to do permanent damage to the young Pens star’s reputation and historical legacy. Through his first 213 NHL games, Crosby has tallied 294 points, for an impressive 1.38 points-per-game average. Though much has been made of the postlockout rule interpretations’ effect on goal scoring, the reality is that substantially fewer goals are scored today than during the heydays of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Crosby’s points-pergame average, when weighted by era against the performances of Gretzky (2.15) and Lemieux (1.62) during their first three seasons, actually compares quite favorably to the two legends.

Unfortunately, rather than drawing comparisons to Gretzky and Lemieux, hockey fans across North America are instead left wondering whether Greg Louganis might be a better benchmark for comparison. What this all means, of course, is that the longer the officials reward Crosby for his gamesmanship — or is it unsportsmanlike behavior? — the more his reputation will be sullied, and the less validity his statistical accomplishments will have when historians look back and compare them to other NHL greats.

But while Crosby — and his propensity for diving — has been the biggest story line of this series thus far, it is not the primary reason why the Blueshirts have fallen into a 0–2 hole. Their failure to execute the game plan that got them to the Eastern Conference semifinals — and not the preferential treatment Crosby has received — is why they now face a must-win situation in tomorrow night’s Game 3.

First and foremost, the Rangers’ own-zone play has been sloppy at best, a recipe for disaster when facing Crosby and his ultra-talented teammates. While the Rangers might not have a Norris Trophy candidate patrolling their blue line, they do have a corps of rearguards that distinguished themselves all season long with their intelligent play. But in Games 1 and 2 their play slipped dramatically.

Friday night’s Game 1 was marked by a plethora of poor choices, both from the Rangers’ blueliners and from their forwards who failed to back-check effectively, and it came as little surprise when they fell 5–4. Complaining about the late interference call on Martin Straka that set up the Pens’ game-winning power play goal — a penalty Crosby sold with an Emmy-caliber performance — only distracts from the fact that the Rangers completely abandoned the disciplined system play that got them here.

When Michal Rozsival failed to competently clear the puck with the Pens on the power play in the second period yesterday afternoon — and then failed to clear Jordan Staal out of Henrik Lundqvist’s crease — he laid out the red carpet for Staal to score the only goal that mattered in the Pens’ 2–0 win (the second goal came with seconds remaining and the Blueshirts’ net empty).

Looking ahead for the Rangers, the biggest key when this series returns to New York will be to ignore all the distractions and to focus on playing a smart puck-possession game. Coughing the puck in the neutral zone — or worse, in the defensive zone — will bring their season to a quick and ugly end.

For while Lundqvist has been mostly brilliant against the Pens, he cannot be expected to continue making highway-robbery saves on point-blank opportunities against some of the NHL’s most dangerous snipers. Indeed, but for Lundqvist, yesterday’s final result would have been far worse, the low goal total belying the Rangers’ shoddy defensive play.

Furthermore, whining excessively about the officiating will only ensure that future calls don’t go their way. And allowing Crosby to get into their heads — as he has done in the first two games — means that the Pens’ most effective offensive weapon is outdoing Rangers instigator Sean Avery in ways no one would have believed possible.

This series isn’t over for the Rangers, not by a long shot. In reality, the Pens have only held serve, winning two home games as expected. But now, with the series moving to Madison Square Garden, it will be up to the Blueshirts to return to the defense-first style that has defined them, and for their star forwards to start scoring some timely goals. The Rangers can control their own destiny by playing better hockey, and they must start with tomorrow night’s Game 3 at MSG.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.