The Rangers couldn’t handle success, coming out flat against the Golden Knights in their 4-1 loss. Special teams, which was the story of the weekend, went back to its Jekyll state, failing miserably yesterday. New York picked up their game in the second, but by then, the game basically was already lost. The Blueshirts are next in action Thursday against Columbus and Friday at home versus Montreal.
Game recap:
David Quinn Post-Game:
"We gave up probably 25 to 30 scoring chances. It's a mindset. It's something we've got to completely buy into that night in and night out we've got to be way more committed to playing the right way and playing defense. I didn't think our 'D' corps was really all in from a defending standpoint. I thought we were way too offensive driven." -- Rangers coach David Quinn
Definitely was not the start we were looking for,” Brady Skjei said. “We were told we had 13 scoring chances [against] in the first 10 or so minutes. That’s not the way you want to start. … We took a few too many chances here and there, and couldn’t put it in the back of the net.
A few thoughts:
1)
Bad start and poor defense - a somewhat fluky goal early in the game once again. But poor defensive positioning played a key role in that tally and several others. Alex Tuch scored after being left all alone on the other side of the ice. His second marker, on the power play, after Tuch got behind a flat footed Brett Howden. Reilly Smith tallied following a bad turnover.
The Rangers were outshot 13-2 in first 7:29 of the game, putting the team on its heels right from the get-go. Ergo my comment of flat in the opening paragraph. After playing a brilliant game against the Devils, the Blueshirts were a shell of that team yesterday.
2)
Special teams - Friday, the powerless play went 0-for-6, costing the team a point. Saturday, New York stoned eight Devils’ power plays, scoring twice short handed. Monday, it was reverse, reverse, as the Blueshirts were 0-for-2 on the penalty kill, giving up two goals, and 0-for-6 on the power play.
The top power-play unit right now consists of Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Ryan Strome and Tony DeAngelo. That's four right-handed shooters, which makes it tough to create good shooting angles at times. This is a point we have harped on since Zibanejad returned.
Quinn spoke after the game about potential changes on the man-advantage. As I wrote yesterday, move Kakko up to the first unit. Maybe also try Adam Fox on the point. Move Strome down or maybe Zib to balance out the combinations. Prior to Zib returning, the power play was humming. Since then - be it causation or correlation - they have struggled, necessitating changes.
3)
Lines:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich
Panarin-Strome-Kakko
Lemieux-Chytil-Fast
Haley-Howden-Smith
Quinn needs to put Chytil back as the second line center. Strome, hot earlier, has gone eight games in a row without a goal. In addition, he has one goal in the last 10, two in the last 15. Slide him down a line or move him to wing. He does have a connection with Panarin, so getting in the right wing might work. However, if that happens, then Kakko would be moved down. Therefore, playing Strome as the 3c night make the most sense.
Howden wasn’t good at all yesterday, continuing a trend. He needs to be the 4c, as to me, he hasn’t shown he should move up a line. But if Strome moves to wing, then Howden ends up as the third line center. The sole advantage of a move like this is that Boo Nieves or Greg McKegg, when healthy, plays as the 4C. In my view, Nieves needs to be in the lineup for Haley immediately. I might sit Howden for Nieves or McKegg and sit Howden and Haley for Nieves and McKegg to change up the bottom unit.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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