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If the Rangers continue to get dominated for periods at a time, it won't matter what happens with the teams around them in the playoff race.
The current wild-card leaders in the Eastern Conference, Ottawa and Montreal, both lost on Tuesday, opening the door for the Blueshirts to move past the Canadiens for the second and final position. But instead they came out flat and ultimately fell to the Kings in Los Angeles, 3-1.
The lack of urgency is alarming considering the stakes. The Rangers (34-32-6) have 10 games remaining to make their push, but their recent play isn't inspiring much confidence. They've looked like they're skating in quicksand while losing eight of their last 11.
As a result, they remain one point behind the Habs, who also have two games in hand.
6 thoughts: Why the personnel doesn't fit the system and much more
Their offensive ineptitude has been most glaring in the opening 20 minutes. They've been held to six shots or fewer in four of their last six first periods, including only two on Tuesday.
That's one more than they had to begin Saturday's bewildering 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks, but the performance in L.A. may have been even worse. After posting two shots in the opening 3:46, the Rangers failed to register another for the next 17:07.
The scoring chances were 14-1 Kings in the first period, according Natural Stat Trick, which assessed New York with a mere 0.02 expected goals in the period. (That has to be some kind of a record, no?)
The Rangers recorded such low totals because they could barely get out of their own zone. L.A. is one of the best teams in the NHL at clogging the middle of the ice, and just about every pass New York attempted from the outside was either fumbled or flatly turned over. There was no semblance of a forward push, and therefore very few opportunities to shoot.
The Kings deserve some credit for that − they're now an incredible 26-3-4 at home this season − but these problems are persisting for the Blueshirts regardless of opponent. We've seen enough evidence to conclude that they're simply a bad possession team.
We can say this for the Rangers: They haven't been folding after these slow starts.
They rallied on Saturday for a comeback win over the Canucks and responded Tuesday with a markedly better second period.
It was as if they swapped jerseys and rolled out new players after intermission.
The Rangers racked up 14 shots on 26 attempts in the second period, generating eight high-danger scoring chances after failing to record one in the first. They flipped a switch and went into attack mode to finally start penetrating the Kings' airtight defense − and when they got into shooting positions, they didn't hesitate to let it rip.
J.T. Miller helped turn the tide 2:10 into the period when he got to the front of the net and hammered home a behind-the-net feed from Alexis Lafrenière. Play initially continued, as it appeared L.A. goalie Darcy Kuemper scrambled just in time to save the shot with his right pad. But a replay review showed that the puck made it across the goal line before Kuemper pushed it back out.
That gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead and new life, but a rare off night from their penalty kill proved costly.
The PK entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the league, but Kevin Fiala and Phillip Danault netted a pair of power-play goals in a span of 6:54 during the second period to put the Kings on top for good.
Those would be the only blemishes for Igor Shesterkin, who was otherwise rock solid again with 30 saves. He's the only reason the Rangers have kept many of these recent games close, but it hasn't been enough to prevent him from hitting 30 losses (24-26-4) after never eclipsing 21 in his first five seasons.
Perhaps the biggest letdown lately has been a power play that's completely lost its way.
Head coach Peter Laviolette made a tweak to the top unit Tuesday, removing Miller and replacing him with Vincent Trocheck. But it didn't make any difference.
The Rangers went 0-for-3, with the first two attempts especially deflating while producing zero shots. They earned three shots and four HD scoring chances on their third and final try, but Kuemper made a few clutch saves to keep them off the board.
It's now seven straight games without a power-play goal while going a combined 0-for-13 in that span. The slump dates back even further than that, with New York 4 for its last 47 overall in the last 20 games.
It's a microcosm of how the season has gone for many of the Rangers' go-to players. Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad both failed to record a shot on goal or make much of an impact at any strength Tuesday, while Lafrenière and Adam Fox each posted only one.
Miller, Trocheck and Artemi Panarin had three apiece, but only Miller converted his into a goal. Panarin has now gone without a point in two straight games after collecting at least one in the previous 11.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: Another slow start dooms NY Rangers in L.A.
Continue reading...
The current wild-card leaders in the Eastern Conference, Ottawa and Montreal, both lost on Tuesday, opening the door for the Blueshirts to move past the Canadiens for the second and final position. But instead they came out flat and ultimately fell to the Kings in Los Angeles, 3-1.
The lack of urgency is alarming considering the stakes. The Rangers (34-32-6) have 10 games remaining to make their push, but their recent play isn't inspiring much confidence. They've looked like they're skating in quicksand while losing eight of their last 11.
As a result, they remain one point behind the Habs, who also have two games in hand.
6 thoughts: Why the personnel doesn't fit the system and much more
An awful start
Their offensive ineptitude has been most glaring in the opening 20 minutes. They've been held to six shots or fewer in four of their last six first periods, including only two on Tuesday.
That's one more than they had to begin Saturday's bewildering 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks, but the performance in L.A. may have been even worse. After posting two shots in the opening 3:46, the Rangers failed to register another for the next 17:07.
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The scoring chances were 14-1 Kings in the first period, according Natural Stat Trick, which assessed New York with a mere 0.02 expected goals in the period. (That has to be some kind of a record, no?)
The Rangers recorded such low totals because they could barely get out of their own zone. L.A. is one of the best teams in the NHL at clogging the middle of the ice, and just about every pass New York attempted from the outside was either fumbled or flatly turned over. There was no semblance of a forward push, and therefore very few opportunities to shoot.
The Kings deserve some credit for that − they're now an incredible 26-3-4 at home this season − but these problems are persisting for the Blueshirts regardless of opponent. We've seen enough evidence to conclude that they're simply a bad possession team.
Mustering a response
We can say this for the Rangers: They haven't been folding after these slow starts.
They rallied on Saturday for a comeback win over the Canucks and responded Tuesday with a markedly better second period.
It was as if they swapped jerseys and rolled out new players after intermission.
The Rangers racked up 14 shots on 26 attempts in the second period, generating eight high-danger scoring chances after failing to record one in the first. They flipped a switch and went into attack mode to finally start penetrating the Kings' airtight defense − and when they got into shooting positions, they didn't hesitate to let it rip.
J.T. Miller helped turn the tide 2:10 into the period when he got to the front of the net and hammered home a behind-the-net feed from Alexis Lafrenière. Play initially continued, as it appeared L.A. goalie Darcy Kuemper scrambled just in time to save the shot with his right pad. But a replay review showed that the puck made it across the goal line before Kuemper pushed it back out.
That gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead and new life, but a rare off night from their penalty kill proved costly.
The PK entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the league, but Kevin Fiala and Phillip Danault netted a pair of power-play goals in a span of 6:54 during the second period to put the Kings on top for good.
Those would be the only blemishes for Igor Shesterkin, who was otherwise rock solid again with 30 saves. He's the only reason the Rangers have kept many of these recent games close, but it hasn't been enough to prevent him from hitting 30 losses (24-26-4) after never eclipsing 21 in his first five seasons.
Power-play struggles continue
Perhaps the biggest letdown lately has been a power play that's completely lost its way.
Head coach Peter Laviolette made a tweak to the top unit Tuesday, removing Miller and replacing him with Vincent Trocheck. But it didn't make any difference.
The Rangers went 0-for-3, with the first two attempts especially deflating while producing zero shots. They earned three shots and four HD scoring chances on their third and final try, but Kuemper made a few clutch saves to keep them off the board.
It's now seven straight games without a power-play goal while going a combined 0-for-13 in that span. The slump dates back even further than that, with New York 4 for its last 47 overall in the last 20 games.
It's a microcosm of how the season has gone for many of the Rangers' go-to players. Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad both failed to record a shot on goal or make much of an impact at any strength Tuesday, while Lafrenière and Adam Fox each posted only one.
Miller, Trocheck and Artemi Panarin had three apiece, but only Miller converted his into a goal. Panarin has now gone without a point in two straight games after collecting at least one in the previous 11.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: Another slow start dooms NY Rangers in L.A.
Continue reading...
