The Rangers were home last night hence not too surprising that a team of Mr. Hyde’s showed up, losing to the NYI in a game that ended in embarrassing fashion, 5-0.
It all seemed to start well and included the somewhat unexpected return of D Vaakanainen to the lineup paired, with Schneider. The team was strong out of the gate and had quite a few very good chances in the first ten minutes but, once again, could not put any of them behind Sorokin. Then, at 10:29, Horvat (10) was left wide open to score on a break away, taking a pass from down low from Heineman. The entire play started with the Rangers failing to score at the other end and Fox getting caught near the goal line, unable to catch up with the play going the other way. JT Miller chose to skate backwards near the red line instead of being the first foward into the defensive zone to help Gavrikov. If the idea was to break up the pass to Horvat or Heineman, he did neither because those two were already well past him and his stick as they raced foward to the Ranger goal.
That was the game in a nutshell and, for all intents, the “team” folded like a house of cards at that point. A more precise assesment would be that the top six folded, becoming visibly frustrated (doors and sticks slamming) and more and more unnecessary risks taken trying to score that elusive home goal. As Valley would note in the post game, it was unprofessional and a bad influence on the kids and other lines, all but saying learn to ‘suck it up buttercup’.
As has become disturbingly typical of the NYR, even in victories, they gave up a last minute of the period goal to Drouin (2) at 19:27. 2-0 NYI after one with 40 minutes left to play.
As has become disturbingly typical of the NYR, even in victories, they gave up a last minutes of the period goal to Horvat (11) at 18:42, this time on the PP. 3-0 NYI after two. The Rangers were outshot 12-7 in the second.
The third period would see the Rangers at least make some attempt at trying to pressure the Islanders and get back in the game to maybe get a point. They even outshot them 18-5. That was in part because coach Sullivan pulled Shesterkin at 14:55 to put the Rangers on the 6-5. Yet the only goal came from the NYI a tick over three minutes later at 17:59 by Pageau (5) into the empty net. The Islanders would score a final goal by Lee (3) on another embarassing breakway at 19:30. 5-0 the final score.
As Valley also pointed out in the post game, almost all the Ranger shots were on the ice or into the logo, making life easy for Sorokin. Against Detroit, they managed to elevate the puck and hit corners. His conclusion was stark, embarrassing and based on the season to date, not just a single game: “these guys did not spend anytime over the summer practicing their shot.” Hard not to agree with that sentiment and one wonders what they are doing at practice and why none of the leadership hasn’t required full attendance at optional skates or just called some on their own.
Scoring details below:
The Rangers will get another crack at their first home win on Monday night when they host the Nashville Predators at 19:00 EST. Telecast carried by MSG, TVAS and FDSNSO.
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