On a night where backstories took priority over the game on the ice, the New York Rangers failed to show up offensively as well as without any level of passion in their 4-1 loss to the Ducks. The only passion shown was by the fans, who feted Chris Kreider in his return to MSG, and to a certain extent, Jacob Trouba, Igor Shesterkin was the only player who displayed any level of emotion, destroying his stick after heading off the ice following the loss, while Mika Zibanejad was suspended for missing a team meeting yesterday am, No time to rest, as Vancouver is in town tonight.
Game recap:
Rangers lines vs. Ducks:
Cuylle-Miller-Sheary
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière
Berard-Laba-Brodzinski
Raddysh-Carrick-Rempe
Gavrikov-Schneider
Soucy-Borgen
Vaakanainen-Robertson
Shesterkin
Quick
Scratches: Zibanejad (healthy, missed team practice), Morrow, Chmelař
LTIR: Fox (upper-body injury), Edström (lower-body injury)
A few thoughts:
1) Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba: neither former Ranger had a material impact on the game. Same with Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano. But the majority of the jerseys in the crowd had Kreider’s name and number on the back, with a good portion of the population in attendance there to give CK20 his proper thanks. Somewhat similar for Trouba, but to a much lesser extent, given what Kreider provided and meant to the Rangers’ fanbase. Bad job by MSG network, not showing the tributes live.
2) Game play: uninspired, no energy, no fire, kind of what we saw at times a month ago. An eminently winnable game, even when tied 1-1 after two periods, was thrown in the garbage. The only fire shown was by Igor Shesterkin after the contest. His anger likely stems from the goal allowed with three seconds remaining, where the other five Rangers on the ice basically stopped playing. If everyone else had that kind of passion and drive, no way they would have lost last night.
3) Power play: for the love of all that is holy, please stop with the five-forward look. If this period does not convince you how good and valuable Adam Fox is, nothing will. New York went 0-for-4 on the power play, with the second unit looking far better than the first. In fact, with a 5-on-3 that became a 5-on-4 when the first penalty expired as the Ducks came up the ice. Artemi Panarin’s inability to defend on the rush – no criticism meant – helped lead to the goal against.
Just go with Vladislav Gavrikov or even Matthew Robertson or Scott Morrow – if he dresses – rather than five forwards. It’s not working and not keeping it, just borders on stubbornness. It’s the definition of insanity.
4) Matt Rempe, who dressed for the first time since October 23, admitted he suffered a broken thumb in the fight that sidelined him. Not just a break but a break in multiple spots. After the fight, I said how unnecessary it was. The injury more than proved that. He will not be able to fight for a while as the thumb is not healed enough to facilitate that action.
5) Mika Zibanejad: We went through the conspiracy theories yesterday. Other than maybe the Rangers doing so to force Zib to waive his NMC, which is not happening and not the goal, no additional ones have been raised. I understand the move and consistency of the message being sent, but I disagree with the timing with Anaheim in town and how much this game meant to him. In addition, while you may win the war, sitting him lost the battles as his pressure was needed offensively in general and on the man advantage. Vince Mercogliano provides additional context on the scratch in the video.
I am not calling tonight a must-win, but it kind of is. Five games in seven days, a trip to St. Louis is upcoming. Divisional game on the road against the Flyers on Saturday afternoon. Home game Sunday versus a much better Nashville squad. Tight postseason race. If they stay in, they need to win. If the plan is to punt, then….
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