UPDATE: The Rangers sent Brady Skjei to Hartford this morning to create enough cap space to add backup goalie Magnus Hellberg and defenseman Chris Summers for tonight’s game.
Wild 5, Rangers 2.
Click here for the boxscore with links to the game summary, etc.
Thoughts:
1) Well, the wheels come off rather easily lately, don’t they? Which to me is kind of shocking for the core of this team. I mean, these last four road games, when the game was right there, the Rangers coughed it right up. Let it get right away from them. They were not awful for most of this game. They had every chance to win it, even down 1-0 and 2-1. Were doing just fine, trailing a good defensive, but right there again. Then it all blew up again.
2) The Rangers better hope Derek Stepan is ready to be some sort of savior, which would be totally unfair to expect. And, in fact, it might be dangerous letting him come back against a big, physical Winnipeg team. While I kid when I say savior, I would expect once he gets healthy and in game condition, Stepan is going to help the whole team because they badly, badly need another top line.
3) In this particular game, the Rangers didn’t have any top lines. In fact, I would rank the four lines in this order. 1. Dominic Moore’s line. 2. J.T. Miller’s line. 3. Oscar Lindberg’s line. 4. Derick Brassard’s line. You could argue 2 and 3. But Brassard’s line, with Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello, was not close to whichever one was third.
4) The Rangers are going to have slumps like this if those three guys show up every other game. Or every third game. The fourth line was the only one that seemed to understand the gameplan against a team clogs the neutral zone. But really, the Rangers haven’t had a top-six to speak of most of the season. They miss first-half Martin St. Louis from last season, but even the cooked second-half/playoff MSL would be top-six on this team.
5) And don’t even get me started on Carl Hagelin. He’s not a top-six, and he’s not having a great season in Anaheim, and they had no choice but to let him go. But, boy, this team really lacks the speed it had the last couple of seasons. That’s partly because they don’t move the puck out of the defensive zone with any consistency, and partly because their other really speedy guy, Chris Kreider, can’t accomplish anything.
6) Sorry, I got sidetracked there. Back to the Daily Nash-O-Meter and the top line, sometimes known as the fancy-boys. Against a team that won’t let you make fancy-boy plays, Nash had three shot attempts, one on goal; Brassard one shot attempt, none on goal; Zuccarello zero shot attempts. Just awful. And they were even worse defensively. That line has piled up some statistics in some games – for example, Brassard’s having a better statistical season than former Future Ranger Zach Parise – but boy they don’t bring it every night.
7) The fifth goal, which didn’t really matter, came off just a lazy St. Zuccarello pass back to a bad spot for Ryan McDonagh, who got drilled by Charlie Coyle – looked like a high elbow/forearm — and turned the puck over while Zuccarello was standing near the blue line and Brassard loafing on the backcheck. Zuccarello, Brassard and Nash were invisible. Dylan McIlrath went after Coyle at the next opportunity. And why not at that point? Though you can’t take an instigator at the end of a game or you get suspended.
8) Now, after Antti Raanta suffered the first-period head injury (concussion, in all likelihood) the Rangers need to make a roster move, to get a backup goalie up here and under the salary cap. It might have to be Tanner Glass, one of the few guys who’s given a consistently effective effort the last five games, because he’s been through waivers and won’t have to clear. Or they could risk a guy like Viktor Stalberg (woof), who would probably get through waivers. It will need to be a forward, with Stepan coming back, unless they want to send down Skjei and go with five defensemen against that punishing Winnipeg team. That’s assuming that Kevin Klein, who is doubtful, doesn’t play in Winnipeg. If he can play, Skjei is the obvious demotion.
9) FYI, goalies in Hartford: Magnus Hellberg 8-8-0, 2.62, .908. Mackenzie Skapski (back from injury) 2-5-0, 3.20, .898.
10) Raanta looked pretty wobbly as he left the ice after taking that Marco Scandella slapper off the noggin. He joked earlier this season that he was trying the “header” because the guy who lockers next to him does it. … But this wasn’t intentional, and it was scary.
11) So Santino Vasquez, a local college kid who gave up seven goals in 46 minutes in his two seasons at Hamline University, made $500 as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup.
12) Lundqvist comes in, hair perfect, and very shortly after the Raanta injury, he tried one of his “header” saves. He made a great glove save on Koivu in the middle of the second. Got beat by Fontaine on the late second period breakway, but the puck hit the post and Keith Yandle prevented a goal on the rebound. But after that, all downhill.
13) Tell you what, you look at that Minnesota defense, and it’s a little more mobile overall, but it’s smaller and softer than the Rangers defense. But they don’t panic with the puck, they don’t run around chasing the puck, they defend – boy, do they defend – in front of their net. A lot of that is system, you know, the way the Rangers’ defense played under John Tortorella. You line up the rosters, and maybe Ryan Suter’s the most gifted of the 12 D in that game, but the Rangers’ top six should be better than their six. So far this season, they haven’t been close.
14) The Rangers take a ridiculous number of needless minor penalties. They really do.
15) Yandle had the penalty shot right off the hop, a Scandellous hook from behind by Scandella after the touchdown pass by Jesper Fast. I think I’ve said this before, but if your intent is to shoot the puck on the penalty shot/shootout attempt, you don’t go way wide and cut off half the net on yourself. Go straight down the middle, a la Steve Larmer. It leaves you more net, more options to deke, too. But Yandle did the same move, cutting to the middle only slightly more before shooting, when he scored the OT penalty-shot winner vs. Philly in the preseason. Click here to see it.
16) Also, that kind of shot just shows you how stupid it is that the NHL allows goalies to wear peach baskets on their hands while worrying about adding offense. My God. Devan Dubnyk didn’t move his glove and the puck disappeared.
17) So Viktor Stalberg just throws a hairball up the middle, which you absolutely cannot do against a team like that, and creates all sorts of chaos in the Rangers end. It shouldn’t be that bad, though. McDonagh took a man, Marc Staal took a man, leaving both D-men behind the net. Stalberg, Oscar Lindberg and Kevin Hayes all had ring-side seats on Mikko Koivu’s uncontested goal, Lindberg actually peeling away from the net. That was, I think, the 1,000,000th uncontested goal they have allowed this season. I’ll go back and count again. And that one is all on the forwards.
18) Good job by our fine, fine NHL officials, getting together to reverse the call on Staal’s high stick against Zucker, which was on a follow-through and not a penalty.
19) Staal did do the fruitless snow angel on the power-play goal by Matt Dumba, after the Dan Boyle pouliot vs. Coyle, and after Brady Skjei got traffic-coned by Nino Niederreiter at the side of the net. Hayes kinda took a nap on Dumba, too.
20) Skjei then got toasted by Zucker and Lundqvist bailed him out, which allowed the Rangers to get back in the game on the Moore snap shot with 8.9 left. That was also Glass’s fault. Suter wanted no part of Glass on the forecheck that led to the goal. Emerson Etem had the primary assist, and I thought some good shifts with the puck, which has certainly been rare.
21) Skjei had to take a penalty at the end of a terrible shift by the No. 1 line, and on the power play, somehow, Jason Pominville was allowed to get in behind McDonagh to beat Lundqvist off the post and in. Just a one-against-one breakdown. That can’t happen.
22) Lundqvist got caught cheating on the 4-1 goal, a terrible goal, and the wheels were completely off again, just as they came off so many times in Edmonton and Calgary.
23) Fast had a better game after a couple of stinkers. Made the pass to Yandle that led to the breakaway and the penalty shot, then had a great chance to tie it shortly after Raanta’s injury in the first. Had the assist on the McDonagh goal, with an even better set-up by Miller.
24) There was a good play by Kreider in the second, support in defensive zone, banked outlet for Fast, trailed at high speed for the drop pass and slapper. He followed that with a good forecheck on his next shift. Baby steps. His forecheck in the third led eventually to Miller’s pass and McDonagh’s too-late goal. But not nearly enough productive shifts for Kreider or Miller, who looks somewhat energized at center and still able to get in his licks along the wall.
25) The Jarret Stoll penalty vs. Lindberg is one of the reasons he’s no longer a Ranger.
26) Countdown to Festivus: Five days.
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My Three Rangers Stars:
1. Dominic Moore.
2. Tanner Glass.
3. Emerson Etem.
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Kenny Albert’s Three Rangers Stars:
1. Dominic Moore.
2. Tanner Glass.
3. Emerson Etem.
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Your poll vote for Three Rangers Stars:
1. Tie, Tanner Glass and Dominic Moore.
3. Dylan McIlrath.
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Photos by Getty Images.
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