There have been times the New York Rangers were better on the road than they were at home. Unfortunately, this road trip is not a prime example of that. After the success of their initial road trip, this one found the Rangers lacking.
This week was a trip into the wilds of Canada. Unfortunately, it was an unsuccessful venture, netting them only two out of six possible points. The Rangers are currently second in the Metropolitan, three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes, despite it being early into the season. Hopefully, the Rangers will choose not to look over their shoulder because the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals are in third and fourth place, both one point behind the Rangers at 14.
New York Rangers @ Vancouver Canucks
November 2, 2021
Rogers Arena
L 3-2 in OT
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
02:33-Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin & Adam Fox
13:13-Panarin, Fox, Ryan Strome
3rd Period
01:29-J.T. Miller, Conor Garland & Elias Pettersson
05:19-Vasily Podkolzin, Garland & Tyler Myers
Overtime
02:22-Miller, Quinn Hughes
The Rangers fell in defeat to the Canucks, effectively ending a five-game road-winning streak. Thatcher Demko made some great saves for Vancouver, especially when the Rangers had a two-man power-play advantage. Miller, a former draft pick and player for the Rangers, not only got Vancouver on the board in the second period, but he also scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Igor Shesterkin was able to make 33 incredible saves, and it is interesting to note that around 13 of those shots occurred during the six power plays Vancouver had.
Despite the loss, there was still something to celebrate. Fox was able to pick up his 100th NHL point with his assists in this game. Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov are the only other two Rangers to have reached 100 points in 135 games or less.
New York Rangers @ Edmonton Oilers
November 5, 2021
Rogers Place
L 6-5 in OT
1st Period
01:53-Filip Chytil, Nils Lundkvist & Sammy Blais
18:11-Zach Hyman, Tyson Barrie & Darnell Nurse
2nd Period
02:52-Kevin Rooney & Chytil
04:11-Chris Kreider, Fox & Barclay Goodrow
06:56-Zibanejad, Strome & Panarin
14:41-Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins & Nurse
3rd Period
01:00-Tyson Barrie, Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl
03:35-Puljujarvi, Duncan Keith, Evan Bouchard
07:18-Zibanejad & Kreider
17:01-McDavid, Barrie, Draisaitl
Overtime
03:27-Draisaitl, Nurse & McDavid
This was a disappointing remix of the Vancouver game. The Rangers had the lead, lost it, and then proceeded to lose in overtime.
For a while, the Rangers looked as if they had come to play, and it was working. At one point in the second period, New York had a 4-1 lead over the Oilers. Then, somewhere in the second period, the momentum started to shift away from the Rangers and towards the Oilers. The Oilers never looked back. Eventually, in the third period, the Rangers were able to retake the lead. However, hopes for a win were dashed by McDavid when he tied the game with about three minutes left in the game. During overtime, the Rangers were barely holding on, and finally, Draisaitl was able to knock it in to end the Rangers’ pain and misery.
New York Rangers @ Calgary Flames
November 6, 2021
Scotiabank Saddledome
L 6-0
1st Period
16:00-Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, & Elias Lindholm
2nd Period
09:15-Brad Richardson, Oliver Kylington, & Trevor Lewis
11:19-Johnny Gaudreau, Tkachuk, & Noah Hanifin
3rd Period
06:42-Gaudreau & Tkachuk
13:13-Milan Lucic, Dillon Dube, & Andrew Mangiapane
14:56-Tkachuk, Gaudreau & Lindholm
Looking to bounce back from the heartbreaking loss in Edmonton, the Rangers rolled into Calgary with winning on their minds. However, it was not meant to be. The Flames collected a passel of goals, all at the expense of Shesterkin and the boys. The game did not start off right when Chytil and Sammy Blais collided on the ice. Then it continued with the Flames pushing the tempo throughout the game. The Rangers never appeared to really get into it, and unfortunately, Shesterkin was only able to save 31 out of 37 shots on goal. Jacob Markstrom was able to defend the net effectively and got his fourth shutout of the season.
What We Learned This Week
Road trips can suck, especially if you are not having a great time. Also, the Rangers have a hard time holding the lead in a game. It gives the impression that they either give up too soon or are too comfortable with having the lead. Either way, they are still not playing a full 60-minute game. If this continues, fans can expect the Rangers to fall in the standings.
The disappointment and carnage experienced by the Rangers have them needing to go ahead and bury the pucks and the sticks in the wilds of Canada somewhere and just start over with their next game at home against the undefeated Florida Panthers.
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
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