As the second week of hockey comes to an end, things aren’t looking too great for the New York Rangers. Their record stands at 1-3, and they currently stand at three points overall. This makes them tied for last in the Massmutual East Division with the Buffalo Sabres. Despite playing much better in this week’s games and having more shots on goal than their opponents, the Rangers came up short both times, losing by one goal to both the New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburg Penguins.
New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils
Madison Square Garden
January 19, 2021
The Rangers faced Lindy Ruff, their former defensive coach, as they took on the Devils for the third game of the season. Their start to the game was so slow. They didn’t register their first shot on goal until eight minutes into the first period. Their second shot came almost 12 minutes into the game. After that, they seemed to pick up speed and took only two penalties, one of which resulted in a power-play goal.
They never had the lead after getting off to a rough start, but they played better and attempted to come back in the third. The Rangers were able to get 50 shots on goal, but the goaltender for the Devils, Mackenzie Blackwood, played a good game with 47 saves. Alexandar Georgiev was named the starting goalie, but he gave up four goals on 20 shots through two periods. Igor Shesterkin came on to begin the third and finished the game with eight saves.
Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad scored goals in the second period on the power play, and Filip Chytil was able to bring the Rangers within one during the third period. The slow start combined with Blackwood’s goaltending was the combination for the Rangers’ defeat by the Devils.
New York Rangers vs. Pittsburg Penguins
PPG Paints Arena
January 22, 2021
Coach David Quinn changed the first two lines by swapping two players, moving Pavel Buchnevich to the second line and Alexis Lafreniere to the first. The Rangers trailed at the end of the first period 1-0 on Bryan Rust‘s goal. They made up for it by scoring three goals in the second period; two of those goals were 24 seconds apart. Filip Chytil, Adam Fox, and Kaapo Kakko were able to put the Rangers in a position to win with the 3-1 lead.
Jared McCann scored in the second period to bring the Penguins within one. The Rangers were doing a great job keeping Pittsburg at bay, but Teddy Bluger would score to tie the game 3-3. Overtime would find Chytil almost winning the game for the Rangers with a shot that ended up hitting the post. The Penguins would win the game in a shootout, with Tristan Jarry blocking two out of three shots. Igor Shesterkin played well, making 26 saves, but Jarry collected his first win of the season while making 31 saves.
The performance and decision making for several players, like Chytil, Fox, and K’Andre Miller, have improved quite noticeably since opening night. Quinn’s decision to put Phillip Di Giuseppe, Chytil, and Kakko on a line has been rewarded with improvement in their play, becoming one of the better lines throughout both games.
Despite the losses and the second-guessing by Rangers fans, the team overall is improving. Consistency in play and no more slow starts will afford them a better chance of success over the remainder of the season.
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
