The Rangers began the post-trade deadline stretch run with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators. For the second time in as many games, the Blueshirts played on their heels, allowing an opponent to dominate the final stanza, resulting in a blown lead. New York gets right back at it today with a 6pm playoff-like matchup against Columbus at MSG.
Scratches: Berard, de Haan, Kaliyev
IR: Edström (lower-body), Fox (upper-body)
A few thoughts:
1) Overall: the defensive numbers were ugly. Vince Mercogliano had several in his column:
- The Rangers were outshot, 37-23, with a jarring 19-6 disadvantage in high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
- Igor Shesterkin faced 12 shots and eight HD chances in the first 20 minutes and turned away all of them.
- Rather than attack to try and put the game away, the Rangers spent Saturday's final period on their heels while relying on Shesterkin to be Superman. The shot total in the final 20 minutes was 14-5 in the Sens' favor, who also led 7-1 in HD chances. That said, as I have written, sometimes you need your goalie to win you a game with a big save. Jonathan Quick did it last week with his scorpion routine. While the loss was not on Igor, one more big stop might have changed the end result.
- They'd gone 22-1-2 when entering the third period with a lead prior to Wednesday's 3-2 OT loss to the Washington Capitals but have now lost two such games in a row.
Ottawa dominated down low in front of Igor Shesterkin. They mucked it up around the paint, dominating the Blueshirts, forcing New York on their heels. The Senators won the board battles, then had the net-front advantage, Too much reaching with sticks and not enough physical play from the Blueshirts allowed the Senators to tie.
The bigger takeaway is once again is a blown lead late partially caused by the team's style of play. The definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. That seems to be the case with the Rangers, where they get on their heels and allow their opponent to carry play. We have seen this with several coaches in the past with less than optimal results.
2) Lineup: Carson Soucy, newly acquired, was inserted right in the lineup, replacing Cavin de Haan. His placement next to Zac Jones may be an indication that when Adam Fox returns, he is paired next to Soucy. I am not sure any pairing was great yesterday, seeing how Ottawa dominated play. But K'Andre Miller can not make that turnover in his own zone in overtime under any circumstances, especially when not pressured.
Chris Kreider was surprisingly activated off the injured list. Placing him on a line with Sam Carrick and Jusso Pärssinen was a waste. As Mercoglano noted. Kreider and Pärssinen finished tied for worst on the team with a minus-two rating, with the Senators out-shooting the Rangers, 10-2, while No. 20 was on the ice. The only positive for him was the four hits he dished out, but that unit was cratered. I get the organization wanting to see what they have in Pärssinen. But sitting Brett Berard who brings energy and a willingness to be physical seems very shortsighted.
The PP has gone ice cold since losing Fox to an upper-body injury, with an 0-for-2 showing Saturday and a 1-for-17 skid in their last six games. If you are playing Kreider, why is he not being used as a net-front presence on a struggling unit? Either partially put him in a position to succeed or don't play him at all.
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