The Rangers, coming off a poor performance against the Flames, decided to show that was nothing in falling 6-2 to the Oilers. Edmonton came up the ice repeatedly with few impediments and little push back from New York, who were embarrassingly bad in the loss. The effort was non-existent up and down the lineup with no one willing to play physical or slow down the home team who turned the contest into a track meet. The Blueshirts face the Blues on Monday in new coach Jim Montgomery's first game after signing a five-year contract Sunday.
Miller - Fox
Lindgren - Trouba
Mancini - Schneider
Quick
Shesterkin
A few thoughts:
1) No way to sugarcoat this one - New York was brutal in just about every phase of the game. Goaltender Jonathan Quick looked ready to explode on teammates, especially after they allowed a shorthanded goal to Darenll Nurse late in the first period.
The transition defense was in name only. Edmonton found open trailers as the Rangers lollygagged their way back up the ice after either an offensive zone turnover or weak pass out of their own zone. On the first goal, Artemi Panarin wiped out at the offensive blue line, then cruised back defensively, allowing Vasily Podkolzin to score as the trailer. Nurse's goal saw several forwards mosey their way back up ice, which enabled the Oilers to maintain possession while shorthanded and ultimately score.
The second period was more of the same. Little push back from New York while Quick was under siege. A missed attempt at the net and Edmonton was off to the races. Leon Draisiatl took advantage of additional weak defense to find an opening 2-on-1 for a tap-in tally. The Rangers failed to clear the zone, a theme all night, the Oilers maintained possession, Evan Bouchard was left unattended in the slot and it was 4-0.
Just when you thought it couldn't look worse, Connor McDavid netted two in the final frame. The first was a result of a backdoor feed when somehow everyone on New York lost track of him on the ice. The second was due to another offensive blueline turnover, leading to a 2-on-1, see a theme? McDavid took advantage of Victor Mancini's snow angel - can we please just stop with that - to go around him and beat Quick.
Honestly, if coach Peter Laviolette could have pulled a Herb Brooks and run a bag skate in the arena that night, he should have. It was a brutal performance up and down the roster no one was immune. Laviolette should have gone ballistic in the post-game presser, but he was more measured than I would have been.
“We knew [the Oilers were a good team on the rush], we talked about it,” Laviolette said. “We talked about trying to stay above them and get above them and sometimes we put ourselves in bad positions, sometimes we lost foot races, sometimes we turned the puck over, sometimes we fell down in the offensive zone and lost an edge and the rush just comes back at you quick.”
The team looks like a shell of what we saw in the past season. In fact, they look like 2022-23 again under Gerard Gallant after a run to the ECF teh prior season. New York is playing like they don't care, expecting to rely on their talent with no passion and emotion. That stems from the first line to the fourth line where no one stepped up to lead. There is a leadership void on the team. Maybe it's the postseason hangover, maybe what happened with Jacob Trouba this offseason, it's possible that the lack of Matt Rempe is a mild factor, but the latter is an easy excuse. Whichever reason you like, watching this quad right now is pure torture because we show more passion watching and talking about them that they have on the ice.
Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider need swift kicks in the rear. Vincent Trocheck is playing without the edge we are used to seeing. The blueline is soft as charmin with no grit and bite. New York's lack of speed was highly evident the last two games as they lagged down the ice against both opponents, Unless something radical happens, while talent will win some games, versus good teams, they won't. In fact, against the seven winning teams they have faced, New York has been outscored 30-16.
The Rangers need an infusion of youth. Brett Berard, who plays with a chip on his shoulder and is more than willing to be physical, was promoted Sunday. He should make his NHL debut tomorrow. My guess is if Filip Chytil is not ready to go, Berard will slot onto the third line with Kaapo Kakko and Will Cuylle. If Chytil dresses, Berard could replace Jimmy Vesey or Adam Edstrom as Sam Carrick has at least been willing to mix it up.
UPDATE: #NYR has recalled forward Brett Berard from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Additionally, the club has assigned defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and Victor Mancini to the Wolf Pack.
On defense, I have no answer, Sending Chad Ruhwedel and Victor Mancini down means that Zac Jones is ready. That also means there is no extra blueliner. The end result is that the six we have been used to seeing will be in the lineup again. Make Jones and Braden Schneider the second pair, slot Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren, if they remain a duo, down to the third pair. I wouldn't be shocked if Lindgren plays with Adam Fox and Trouba with K'Andre Miller as Laviolette searches for answers. More of the same could result in a radical move because this team right now is brutal to watch as they look lost and uninterested.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»