The New York Rangers split their weekend games, defeating a depleted Boston Bruins’ squad 6-2 on Friday, then falling 4-1 at home to a similarly short-handed Tampa squad on Saturday. Much more can be taken from Saturday’s loss than from Friday’s win, with the issues that have plagued this team on full display again. The biggest loss Saturday was Adam Fox, who left in the third period following a check by Brandon Hagel that appeared to injure his left arm or shoulder. The Blueshirts are back in action Monday at home against the Stars.
Game recap:
Lines Saturday:
Lafrenière – Zibanejad – Miller
Panarin – Trocheck – Cuylle
Berard – Laba – Brodzinski
Edström – Carrick – Raddysh
Gavrikov – Fox
Soucy – Borgen
Robertson – Schneider
The forwards stayed the same as Friday. Conor Sheary was scratched from both games. Will Borgen returned Saturday after missing five games with an injury, sliding back onto the second line. Scott Morrow dressed on Friday, scratched on Saturday, while Urho Vaakanainen was scratched in both games. Igor Shesterkin started both ends of the back-to-back rather than Dylan Garand getting his first start with Jonathan Quick still sidelined.
A few thoughts:
1) Actions speak louder than words: I posted the post-game quotes below just because I want everyone to see and read what was said. Then wash it. An old friend of mine’s favorite line was action speaks louder than words.
I am tired of the same old, same old. This isn’t one coach or two coaches that have dealt with the same problem; it’s well more than that. Effort beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. When you have less talent than your opponent, and they outwork you, it’s a bad combination and horrible optics. When that happens continually at home, given the high prices at MSG, it’s a death knell for the fanbase.
That is what we are dealing with now. As the Athletic noted, Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning was the Rangers’ ninth defeat in 11 tries on home ice this season. They’re 2-8-1 at MSG, with five points registering as a new franchise low through their first 11 home games, according to NHL Stats. There is unacceptable and there is embarrassment.
“We got outcompeted from the drop of the puck,” an unhappy coach, Mike Sullivan, said postgame. “There’s got to be a willingness and a want to be first to pucks, to embrace physicality. We knew the type of game it was going to be. That team, they’ve got hard skill, they compete and they skate. That was the type of game it was going to be. I don’t think we had the wherewithal to match the intensity. I just feel we lost puck battles all over the rink and it’s hard to establish any sort of game that you want to play if you don’t win puck battles.”
“They were more willful than we were today,” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said of the Lightning. “At no point in that game were we deserving of winning. Shesty’ does everything to keep it close.”
Honestly, this has been the case previously. I felt after they went up 4-0 on Friday, Boston carried the play. They outworked the Rangers the remainder of the second and the entire third period. If the Bruins were a more skilful team, as they had Pavel Zacha, David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy out, that contest could have been a lot closer.
This poor play carried over to Saturday when they were never in the game and were outworked the entire contest. I would love to be pollyanna, but that would be a disservice to all and a lie. The struggles we know that exist – lack of playmaking and speed – should not result in getting outworked. That’s heart and effort, which requires no talent.
2) Some more ugly numbers from the loss yesterday (from the Athletic column):
– Tampa finished with 35 shots while New York mustered only 13, marking its lowest total of the season. The Lightning also held a distinct 16-4 advantage in high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
– Seven of those HD chances came in the opening 20 minutes, which could have easily resulted in a multi-goal lead if not for Igor Shesterkin.
– It was the seventh time in eight games the Rangers had 22 or fewer shots on goal, and Sullivan said he wants to see his players shoot and crash the net more often rather than trying to make the perfect play.
Now, where have we heard that before? Go north-south, not east-west, put shots on net, you don’t get bonus points for making the pretty play. Only when the puck goes in the net. If that arises from a pretty play or a hardworking, dirty tally, the change in the scoreboard is the same, the addition of a goal.
“We’re always looking for the next best play, instead of getting people inside, getting to the blue paint and delivering pucks to the net and creating some opportunity off the shot,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think we create off the shot nearly enough as we should. As a result, we don’t force teams to have to defend the inside of the ice. I think if we did, we’d get on the power play more. I think there would be more opportunities there. We’ve got to have a willingness to go there more.”
3) Fox injury. If Fox is lost long-term, which certainly looks like it may be the case, New York is in a whole heap of trouble. The Rangers have three elite players: Fox, Igor Shesterkin and Artemi Panarin. For all the hate Fox gets, we all know his absence would add massive pressure on an already suspect blueline.
If Fox is out, two of Matthew Robertson, Vaakainen and Morrow would become a regular. Morrow might be the favorite, as he is the one with the most offensive upside. Morrow or Braden Scheider or maybe even Vladislav Gavrikov would man the first unit power play. Going with five forwards, to me, would be a massive mistake. I could see Schneider moving up to be paired with Gavrikov on the first unit with Morrow or Urho on the third pairing.
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