The Rangers were outplayed by the Kings, squeezed repeatedly through the neutral zone, resulting in a 3-1 defeat. A pair of defensive mistakes didn't help matters, potentially driving the decision to promote Braden Scheider and demote Nils Lundkvist to Hartford on Tuesday. New York, who are 6-6-1 in their last 13 games, was off today but will practice Wednesday in advance of their game Thursday vs. San Jose.
Game recap:
A few thoughts:
1)
Blueline: Both even-strength goals resulted as a result of defensive miscues. The first goal came 55 seconds into the second period after Trevor Moore stole a puck from K'Andre Miller and blew past him. Alexandar Georgiev made the initial save, but the rebound was put in the net by Phillip Danault. Miller also failed to clear the front of the net, contributing to the goal. It marked the second consecutive game in which a Miller giveaway directly led to a goal for the opposition.
Less than three minutes later, Moore raced toward the goal line and got off a shot that was tipped by Viktor Arvidsson. Once again, Georgiev made the save but didn't secure the rebound, with Blake Lizotte cashing in to push the lead to 2-0. On this play, both Patrik Nemeth and Jarred Tinordi ended up behind the goal, leaving the front of the net unattended. Ryan Strome was unable to mark Lizotte, leading to the goal.
Causation or correlation,
Schneider was recalled today.. Schneider, 20, has skated in 24 games for the Wolf Pack this season, registering nine assists/points and a plus-6 rating. He ranks third among Hartford defensemen in assists, points, and plus/minus. Drafted by the Rangers 19th overall in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft. New York moved up to select Schneider by exchanging their first round pick (22nd overall) and a third round selection with Calgary.
Known as a physical blue-liner who can also contribute a bit offensively, Schneider was Hartfoed's best overall blue liner. We knew it was only a matter of time before he was promoted. Given the struggles of the third pairing all season, and at times, the first two duos, not a shock this occurred now, but far from expected.
Lundkvist landed in Hartford. It became clear that he could use AHL seasoning. Most defensemen have spent a stint or two in the minors refining their game. Nils went from the SHL straight to the NHL this season, a jump that he struggled in making. Now, he also wasn't given the best pair mate and should have been given more of a chance with Zac Jones, but coach Gerard Gallant, as many do, viewed their skill sets as similar and was concerned about their size, especially after the Vegas game. While some may be down on him, I still view Lundkvist as a top-prospect with a very bright future. He will now get the chance to play 25 or so minutes nightly on the first pairing, while seeing top power play unit action; necessary for his growth. Miller, who has struggled this season and who made a similar jump, but from college to the NHL, also could benefit from similar handling, though that looks unlikely.
Arthur Staple wrote the below in his column today. Based on those numbers, one might think the Rangers would consider revisiting the pairing, shaking up the duos. This does not appear likely. The question for now is what will be the third pairing? Will Jones be promoted off the taxi squad to once again pair with Schneider? Will we be subject to more airings of Nemeth-Tinordi? Does Gallant, now Kris Knoblauch with Gallant on COVID protocol, go with one of those two with Scheider or will Knoblauch pair his former Hartford duo together? Maybe we will see down the road, which is somewhat my hope, Miller-Schneider, Lindgren-Trouba and Jones-Fox?
The shot-share and expected-goal percentages from Natural Stat Trick for the Lindgren-Fox (47.1/50.9) and Miller-Trouba (45.4/43.4) aren’t anything special either, but that’s the way the Rangers have played the bulk of this season. They’ve gotten caved in at five-on-five for the most part on shots and chances and have utilized their superb special teams and Shesterkin’s strong run to help them get where they are in the standings.
2)
Chris Kreider had some interesting comments post-game. I list them below as it gets into the team knowing what they need to do, yet repeating the same mistakes we saw the last few years where they refused to adjust. Hopefully, yesterday is a one-off aberration and not a portend of events to come and repeat, because if so, the rest of the road trip could be damaging. New York played into LA's hands, allowing their style to dictate play, failing to adjust, contributing heavily to the loss.
"We weren't doing a good enough job of getting in battles, staying in battles, winning battles," he said. "A big part of that started in the neutral zone. We weren’t really timing it well and coming with speed and committing to getting our feet going on the forecheck. They did a good job of beating the forecheck that we threw at them tonight. But at the same time, we didn't do nearly a good enough job of establishing that forecheck."
"We talked about before the game what they do in the neutral zone, and we just decided to work hard and not smart," Rangers forward Chris Kreider said. "We need to come with speed, support each other, and we made it really easy on them walking out of the zone, and then ultimately trying to get our feet going a little bit too late, and getting beat and giving them rushes and letting them advance the puck up the ice."
"I think that's what you saw at the beginning of the second period, and ultimately, it's on us to settle down and regroup and commit to doing the right things to advance the puck and play the right way," Kreider said. "We did that a little bit too late when we'd already given up the lead at that point. You didn't nip it in the bud early in the game, so it's on us. It's on me."
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