The Rangers' hot streak hit a bump in the road, as the team fell 4-2 to the Jets. In a very competitive game, New York's play dropped off slightly in the second period and Winnipeg took advantage. A so-so penalty call resulted in a power-play goal against while a really bad Chris Kreider turnover resulted in a Marc Scheifele breakaway goal, the second of three he would score. Connor Hellebuyck was brilliant between the pipes while Igor Shesterkin was good, not great. The Blueshirts face the Bruins in Boston tomorrow.
Game recap:
Rangers lineup vs. Jets:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Roslovic
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière
Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko
Vesey-Goodrow-Brodzinski
A few thoughts:
1) Play against the elite - New York showed they can stay with Winnipeg. But against upper-tier teams this month, the Rangers are just 1-3-1 in the five games. A win over Carolina that Shesterkin stole is the sole victory, offset by losses to Florida, Tampa and Winnipeg along with an overtime defeat at the hands of Toronto. Games against Boston, Florida and Colorado remain this month. While wins against those squads won't mean that the team is a clear Stanley Cup contender, but it certainly will help buffet their reputation and also possibly keep them ahead of the 'Canes in the division. That lead is down to two points.
2) Blender - the poor second period led to changes, though as seen in today's practice, they are temporary for the most part. Kreider was dropped to the third line yesterday, skating with Alex Wennberg and Will Cuylle. Coach Peter Laviolette moved Mika Zibanejad between Alexis Lafrenière and Artemi Panarin with that unit having some success. Laviolette was searching for answers, as he said the group overall was "flat."
In practice today, the top-nine were the same. The only change was that a contrite Matt Rempe, who said all the right things regarding the elbow to Jonas Siegenthaler and subsequent suspension, was back on the fourth line with Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow. Jonny Brodzinski looks to be the odd man out. This isn't a massive surprise, as I think we expected this irrespective of what the end result was going to be Tuesday based on the opponent tomorrow.
A contrite Matt Rempe is set to return to the #NYR lineup tomorrow, as he continues to learn how to "tow the line" without crossing it.
Story from today's conversation regarding his suspension, clean hits, fighting challenges, on-ice impact and more https://t.co/qYSx2gNqzz
On defense, Adam Fox and K'Andre Miller joined together while Braden Schneider and Erik Gustafsson were reunited. That first duo posted impressive numbers and could end up as a unit in the future. As Vince Mercogliano noted, the only pair that wasn't touched featured Zac Jones and Chad Ruhwedel, with the latter logging 13:31 time on ice in his Ranger debut after being scratched for the first six games following a Mar. 8 trade from Pittsburgh. Today in practice, the pairings were back to where they were to start yesterday's game.
Jonathan Quick was the first goalie off the ice and could be between the pipes against Boston. This will be his first shot to tie Ryan Miller for the most wins by a US born goalie.
3) Congrats to Jaroslav Chmelar, who signed a three-year, entry-level contract. Chmelar, a fifth-round pick in 2021, is playing at Providence College.
#NYR have agreed to terms with forward Jaroslav Chmelar on a three-year, entry-level contract.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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