Rangers Take Step Back In Chicago

Wednesday night, the New York Rangers regressed. After picking up six out of a possible eight points, including two overtime losses to the Avalanche and Knights, that push the team back into playoff contention, the Blueshirts were outworked, outcompeted, and out-efforted by a Blackhawks team that came into the contest 2-6-2. Maybe New York looked past Chicago, with Montreal next up and Anaheim, with Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, coming on Monday. But the Blueshirts are not good enough or talented enough to get away with that kind of performance. It showed in the final score and in the way Chicago dominated the action.

Game recap:

Rangers lines vs. Chicago:

Sheary-Trocheck-Miller
Panarin-Zibanejad-Lafrenière
Berard-Laba-Cuylle
Brodzinski-Carrick-Chmelař

Gavrikov-Schneider
Soucy-Borgen
Robertson-Morrow

Shesterkin
Quick

Scratches: Vaakanainen, Raddysh  
LTIR: Fox (upper-body injury), Rempe (upper-body injury), Edström (lower-body injury)

A few thoughts:

1) New York went 0-for-3 on the man-advantage and is now 0-for-12 since Adam Fox was sidelined. The five forward experiment may have mercifully ended, though the reason for that change is not solely due to the lack of production and solid process, but the shorthanded goal allowed in the first period last night. That score resulted in Scott Morrow replacing Will Cuylle, at least for the last two attempts last night. A final decision on what we will see moving forward has yet to be made. 

Peter Baugh summed up the event nicely: “The Rangers were more than 1:30 into their first power play of the game when Louis Crevier struck. Zibanejad lost a puck at the top of the offensive zone, and Ilya Mikheyev tried to find a surging Crevier with a pass in the neutral zone. The two couldn’t connect, but the puck eventually bounced to Matt Grzelcyk at the blue line (after Cuylle had his pocket picked). Crevier was at the opposite blue line by then (with every Ranger on the ice somehow ignoring the fact that he was there alone), and Grzelcyk fed him. Crevier cut to the net and scored on a partial breakaway. Zibanejad and Trocheck, who had been on the ice since the start of the power play, were the two players trying to chase him. Cuylle and Artemi Panarin were nowhere to be found.

Make the change. The five forwards are not working. There is no guarantee Morrow will be the elixir needed, but something has to be altered.

2) Inability to finish – the Rangers generated only 21 official shots while also hitting the post twice. Shot volume was insufficient, though they did have a couple of good chances. Once again though, the team’s inability to finish came back to bite them. If the top-six doesn’t produce, the burden falls on the third and fourth lines. Cuyyle-Noah Laba-Brett Berard had an okay gamewith Laba standing out, but they failed to score. What’s even more damning, as Baugh pointed out, the Jonny Brodzinski-Sam Carrick-Jaroslav Chmelař fourth line and third line had zero shot attempts at five-on-five when fully together. As a result, the blender was out and don’t be surprised if we see Taylor Raddysh on Saturday. 

3) Standings: New York is seventh out of eight Metro Division teams in total points and last in point percentage. In addition, the Rangers have played the most games in the division with the Islanders at 31 and Capitals, Devils and Blue Jackets having played 30 contests each. Now, the Blueshirts have to hope teams in front of them lose or at most earn one point to keep the division as tight as teams 1-7 in total points are separated by five points.