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It’s as if none of the teams vying for the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot have any interest in claiming it.
The Rangers blew multiple two-goal leads Friday in Anaheim on their way to a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss to the up-and-coming Ducks.
Mason McTavish won it 59 seconds into the extra period after Owen Zellweger burned New York off the rush to tie it with 1:45 left in regulation. The result was the Blueshirts’ ninth loss in their last 12 games and seventh OT loss in nine tries − further evidence that last season's knack for coming up clutch has fizzled into a habit of tripping over themselves in those moments.
It was yet another devastating blow in a season that’s been filled with them, with these bumbling Rangers (34-32-7) utterly undeserving of a postseason berth.
The crazy part is, the other teams in the race have been nearly as bad and are allowing them to hang around. Montreal lost its fifth straight Friday, which meant a Blueshirts’ win would have moved them back into the second wild-card position.
Instead, they find themselves in a three-way tie with the Blue Jackets and Canadiens, who both have the edge in points percentage with more games remaining on their respective schedules. Columbus has 11 left and Montreal has 10, while New York is down to only nine. The Islanders are right there, as well, trailing by one point with 11 games of their own to play.
It’s a jumbled mess with no clear front-runner, but it’s impossible to have any faith in the Rangers when they continue to play this brand of sloppy, uninspired hockey.
K'Andre Miller: Rangers reaching a crossroads with D-man in contract year
Even with the walls (and defense) crumbling around him, Igor Shesterkin is trying to will the Blueshirts into the playoffs. He was brilliant in Friday’s first period to prevent Anaheim from putting up a crooked number early.
The Rangers have had a tendency for poor starts all season, with the Ducks' speed and skill in transition posing predictable problems. Anaheim racked up 16 shots and a whopping 10 high-danger scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes alone, according to Natural Stat Trick, but only had one goal to show for it.
It came on a shorthanded rush from Alex Killorn, who had his first attempt was saved by Shesterkin but stayed with it and buried his own rebound.
Prior to that, the 29-year-old had denied each of the first 12 shots he faced, including a sprawling left-pad save from his stomach on a wide-open Killorn. He finished with 28 saves and was hung out to dry on most of the five shots that beat him.
No goalie in the league has faced as many shots (1,591) or expected goals (167.38), with Shesterkin stopping 23.4 goals above expected entering Friday, which ranked third overall according to moneypuck.com.
He’s on pace to set a new career-high for appearances while playing behind one of the NHL’s poorest defenses, with Friday marking the first time he’s ever started nine consecutive games.
The Ducks don’t play much defense, either, which allowed the Rangers to build an early lead.
They, too, have been plagued by costly turnovers, with Jackson LaCombe breaking his stick and coughing up a puck that led to New York’s first goal. It ended up on K’Andre Miller’s stick, then ahead to Artemi Panarin, who banked a spinning pass off the back boards. A charging Adam Fox beat LaCombe to the far post and finished for his seventh goal of the season at the 3:20 mark.
The Ducks tied it on Killorn’s tally with 3:05 remaining in the opening period, but the Rangers retook the lead less than two minutes later.
It was J.T. Miller this time, as he found himself in the right place at the right time when Alexis Lafrenière’s intended pass for Will Cuylle in transition ended up right on Miller’s backhand for his 19th of the season.
The Rangers upped their lead to 3-1 on another Anaheim mistake 14 seconds into the second period.
J.T. Miller got in deep on the forecheck and pressured former Ranger Ryan Strome into a giveaway, leading to a prime chance in front and goal No. 16 for Lafrenière.
The newly formed Cuylle-Miller-Lafrenière line made a positive impact through the first two periods, but they got torched at critical moments in the third.
The first instance came 2:22 into the period, when rising Ducks star Leo Carlsson beat K’Andre Miller at the New York blue line and ripped a shot from the high slot to cut Anaheim’s deficit to 3-2.
Mika Zibanejad scored a power-play goal 2:13 later to push the Rangers’ lead back to two goals, but they protected it with the resolve of a wet tissue.
The next goal started with a neutral-zone turnover from Jonny Brodzinski, whose centering pass was intercepted by LaCombe. It led to another prime chance for Carlsson, with Cutter Gauthier positioned to clean up a juicy rebound and make it 4-3 with 5:48 left in regulation.
Then came the ugliest moment of them all, with Cuylle, Lafrenière and J.T. Miller each getting caught deep in the offensive zone and failing to chase down the play when possession flipped and the Ducks took off. Zellweger ended the ensuing four-on-two rush with a wicked roof shot that tied the score at 4-4 and left the Rangers with their heads hanging.
The Rangers’ defensive breakdowns were largely to blame for this loss, but they had plenty of opportunities to put the game out of reach.
They were awarded a season-high seven power plays, with five coming in the third period. And while Zibanejad scored on one to snap an 0-for-17 drought that spanned nine games, they came up empty on each of the next four opportunities. That included a five-on-three that lasted 1:34 shortly after Zibanejad’s tally.
Meanwhile, the Rangers’ most effective line of Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and rookie Brennan Othmann turned only one of their 11 scoring chances into a goal.
There were many encouraging signs from that trio, which produced a 9-3 advantage in shots, 17-6 in attempts, 11-1 in scoring chances and 6-0 in high dangers. But the other three lines finished with negative ratios in most of those categories, while the defensive pair of Will Borgen and K’Andre Miller had an especially shaky night. They were on for three goals against while being outshot, 14-5, and out-chanced, 12-4.
This marked the first meeting between New York and Anaheim since the Dec. 6 trade that sent former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba across the country.
He vaguely referenced the messy divorce while speaking to reporters prior to the game, labeling the end of his Blueshirts' tenure and ultimate ouster as "a little rocky." But he also seemed at peace with how it all turned out, adding, "I feel like the page has already been turned."
Trouba registered two blocks and four hits, including one that knocked Othmann to the ice, across 15:50 time on ice, but headed to the locker room after crashing into the boards with 14:44 remaining and did not return.
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: NY Rangers undeserving of playoffs after another devastating loss
Continue reading...
The Rangers blew multiple two-goal leads Friday in Anaheim on their way to a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss to the up-and-coming Ducks.
Mason McTavish won it 59 seconds into the extra period after Owen Zellweger burned New York off the rush to tie it with 1:45 left in regulation. The result was the Blueshirts’ ninth loss in their last 12 games and seventh OT loss in nine tries − further evidence that last season's knack for coming up clutch has fizzled into a habit of tripping over themselves in those moments.
It was yet another devastating blow in a season that’s been filled with them, with these bumbling Rangers (34-32-7) utterly undeserving of a postseason berth.
The crazy part is, the other teams in the race have been nearly as bad and are allowing them to hang around. Montreal lost its fifth straight Friday, which meant a Blueshirts’ win would have moved them back into the second wild-card position.
Instead, they find themselves in a three-way tie with the Blue Jackets and Canadiens, who both have the edge in points percentage with more games remaining on their respective schedules. Columbus has 11 left and Montreal has 10, while New York is down to only nine. The Islanders are right there, as well, trailing by one point with 11 games of their own to play.
It’s a jumbled mess with no clear front-runner, but it’s impossible to have any faith in the Rangers when they continue to play this brand of sloppy, uninspired hockey.
K'Andre Miller: Rangers reaching a crossroads with D-man in contract year
Igor Shesterkin holds up against early flurry
Even with the walls (and defense) crumbling around him, Igor Shesterkin is trying to will the Blueshirts into the playoffs. He was brilliant in Friday’s first period to prevent Anaheim from putting up a crooked number early.
The Rangers have had a tendency for poor starts all season, with the Ducks' speed and skill in transition posing predictable problems. Anaheim racked up 16 shots and a whopping 10 high-danger scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes alone, according to Natural Stat Trick, but only had one goal to show for it.
It came on a shorthanded rush from Alex Killorn, who had his first attempt was saved by Shesterkin but stayed with it and buried his own rebound.
Prior to that, the 29-year-old had denied each of the first 12 shots he faced, including a sprawling left-pad save from his stomach on a wide-open Killorn. He finished with 28 saves and was hung out to dry on most of the five shots that beat him.
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No goalie in the league has faced as many shots (1,591) or expected goals (167.38), with Shesterkin stopping 23.4 goals above expected entering Friday, which ranked third overall according to moneypuck.com.
He’s on pace to set a new career-high for appearances while playing behind one of the NHL’s poorest defenses, with Friday marking the first time he’s ever started nine consecutive games.
Building a lead
The Ducks don’t play much defense, either, which allowed the Rangers to build an early lead.
They, too, have been plagued by costly turnovers, with Jackson LaCombe breaking his stick and coughing up a puck that led to New York’s first goal. It ended up on K’Andre Miller’s stick, then ahead to Artemi Panarin, who banked a spinning pass off the back boards. A charging Adam Fox beat LaCombe to the far post and finished for his seventh goal of the season at the 3:20 mark.
The Ducks tied it on Killorn’s tally with 3:05 remaining in the opening period, but the Rangers retook the lead less than two minutes later.
It was J.T. Miller this time, as he found himself in the right place at the right time when Alexis Lafrenière’s intended pass for Will Cuylle in transition ended up right on Miller’s backhand for his 19th of the season.
The Rangers upped their lead to 3-1 on another Anaheim mistake 14 seconds into the second period.
J.T. Miller got in deep on the forecheck and pressured former Ranger Ryan Strome into a giveaway, leading to a prime chance in front and goal No. 16 for Lafrenière.
Watching it crumble
The newly formed Cuylle-Miller-Lafrenière line made a positive impact through the first two periods, but they got torched at critical moments in the third.
The first instance came 2:22 into the period, when rising Ducks star Leo Carlsson beat K’Andre Miller at the New York blue line and ripped a shot from the high slot to cut Anaheim’s deficit to 3-2.
Mika Zibanejad scored a power-play goal 2:13 later to push the Rangers’ lead back to two goals, but they protected it with the resolve of a wet tissue.
The next goal started with a neutral-zone turnover from Jonny Brodzinski, whose centering pass was intercepted by LaCombe. It led to another prime chance for Carlsson, with Cutter Gauthier positioned to clean up a juicy rebound and make it 4-3 with 5:48 left in regulation.
Then came the ugliest moment of them all, with Cuylle, Lafrenière and J.T. Miller each getting caught deep in the offensive zone and failing to chase down the play when possession flipped and the Ducks took off. Zellweger ended the ensuing four-on-two rush with a wicked roof shot that tied the score at 4-4 and left the Rangers with their heads hanging.
1-for-7 on the power play
The Rangers’ defensive breakdowns were largely to blame for this loss, but they had plenty of opportunities to put the game out of reach.
They were awarded a season-high seven power plays, with five coming in the third period. And while Zibanejad scored on one to snap an 0-for-17 drought that spanned nine games, they came up empty on each of the next four opportunities. That included a five-on-three that lasted 1:34 shortly after Zibanejad’s tally.
Meanwhile, the Rangers’ most effective line of Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and rookie Brennan Othmann turned only one of their 11 scoring chances into a goal.
There were many encouraging signs from that trio, which produced a 9-3 advantage in shots, 17-6 in attempts, 11-1 in scoring chances and 6-0 in high dangers. But the other three lines finished with negative ratios in most of those categories, while the defensive pair of Will Borgen and K’Andre Miller had an especially shaky night. They were on for three goals against while being outshot, 14-5, and out-chanced, 12-4.
Jacob Trouba leaves with injury
This marked the first meeting between New York and Anaheim since the Dec. 6 trade that sent former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba across the country.
He vaguely referenced the messy divorce while speaking to reporters prior to the game, labeling the end of his Blueshirts' tenure and ultimate ouster as "a little rocky." But he also seemed at peace with how it all turned out, adding, "I feel like the page has already been turned."
Trouba registered two blocks and four hits, including one that knocked Othmann to the ice, across 15:50 time on ice, but headed to the locker room after crashing into the boards with 14:44 remaining and did not return.
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: NY Rangers undeserving of playoffs after another devastating loss
Continue reading...
