The Rangers dropped their second straight to start March, falling 3-2 Monday to the Panthers. New York entered the third tied at two, but a missed call on one end and shot Igor Shesterkin would love another chance at got past him for the winning margin. Florida locked it down the last 12:49 of the contest, giving the Blueshirts nothing through the neutral or offensive zone. The Rangers are off for two days before resuming practice Thursday with the trade deadline Friday and game against the Blues on Saturday.
Game recap:
Possible lines:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière
Cuylle-Goodrow-Vesey
Edström-Brodzinski-Rempe
Miller-Trouba
Lindgren-Fox
Gustafsson-Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
A few thoughts:
1) Trade deadline - Tuesday, the Capitals dealt Anthony Mantha at 50% retained to the Knights for a second in 2024 and fourth in 2026. A quasi-baseline for what Alexander Weinberg might cost has been set. Speculation is that New York might be in lead in the Weinberg sweepstakes with a second and Matthew Robertson the rumored return. Mantha is more of a scorer while Wennberg is more of a playmaker and solid between the dots. Last year, 26 deals were made in the three days before the trade deadline. The first trade of the week finally went down, but given all the rumors, expect discussions and deals to be hot and heavy.
2) Playoff hockey - the last two games provided a quick view as to what the playoffs will entail. New York was not blown out by any stretch of the imagination but holes and warts were visible. Depth up front, as we have brought up previously, is a major area of need.
The ability to get through checks, create when the neutral zone is locked and force the opponent into turnovers is the key. Pieces that can do that currently exist but more are needed. When the big line is shut down, who can assume the mantle and force the issue? Yesterday, Florida was especially effective at shutting down the Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafrenière trio. The line was held off the scoresheet at five-on-five and outshot, 8-3, in 12:28 time on ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. A rarity for sure, but when it happens, if no one else steps up, a loss ensues.
Ryan Lindgren and coach Peter Laviolette have their thoughts on the Panthers and their style of play. I am not that upset after the loss because the Rangers showed they can go toe to toe with them, same with the Leafs. Aleksander Barkov had a ridiculously skilled play, leading to the first goal, while the second did occur due to a breakdown to a certain extent. The third goal was a fluke that likely won’t happen all too often. The game was fairly even with the refs playing a role due to a poor penalty call on Matt Rempe and missed hook of Jonny Brodzinski by Kevin Stenlund that resulted in the puck going the other way and Ryan Lomberg’s game-winner
"Fast, skilled, physical," Lindgren said when asked about his impressions of the Panthers. "They don't give you much in the in the (offensive) zone. They play a tight man-on-man, and obviously really good goaltending, too. It's a really good team over there. I think we play them one more time – third time of the year (on Mar. 23 at MSG) – so it'll be it'll be a fun one."
"It’s something (head coach Peter Laviolette) preaches, is physicality and speed, and you definitely noticed tonight," Lindgren said. "They’re a team that likes to hit and bang and try to get under your skin, and we didn't back away from anything. We responded to it and threw some good hits of our own."
"Once they got the lead, they clogged down the neutral zone with the lock," Laviolette said. "We needed to move the puck quicker and put it behind them and get on the forecheck. I don't think we did a very good job of that once they got the lead. We didn’t get in there and sustain pressure."
3) Power play - if one positive did occur, it was the Rangers' power play. Entering Monday’s game six for its previous 48 and in a massive slump the last 25 games, they struck twice. The first was just before the man-advantage ended with Will Cuylle putting in a rebound. Later in the second period. It was another hard-working play around the net, this one from Chris Kreider for his 31st goal of the season.
"Our process was better," Kreider said of the power play. "That’s a team that forced us to play a little quicker and we were able to cash in on a couple of opportunities. But I think that mentality of kind of moving the puck, releasing the pressure, releasing the pressure, and then attacking the net and just kind of getting in that flow is what made us successful – and will continue to make us successful."
Through the first 35-games of the season, the Rangers ranked first-overall in the league on the power-play, with an astonishing 30.9% success rate. A drop off was expected and would be easier to take if they still were getting good kicks but goalies were robbing them. That has not been the case. Prior to Monday’s game, and in their last 26-games played, the Rangers’ power-play success rate has been practically cut in half to 15.7%. That “success rate” was 27th in the league, ugly.
The PP wasn’t perfect and did benefit from the second pair. But progress is progress especially when grasping at straws recently based on the numbers above. Five by five for Kreider and Mika Zibanejad remains an issue, even though I thought Kaapo Kakko was the best of the three at even strength.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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