Rangers
Sometimes credit belongs in areas that don’t seem obvious. The Rangers lost 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers last night, marking their second loss to Edmonton in nine days. But unlike last time, the Rangers held their own against one of the NHL’s most explosive teams.
The Rangers couldn’t keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoreboard, but they limited their opportunities. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Rangers generated 20 more scoring chances than the Oilers and edged them 16-2 in high-danger chances.
It’s difficult to limit a team with two of the best players in NHL history to two high-danger scoring chances. One of them came off an ugly turnover by Dylan Garand. As he tried to slide a pass through a narrow window, the puck hit the side of the net, and McDavid scooped it up.
It was a bad goal to give up, and Garand made a rookie mistake. However, last year’s Rangers would have completely collapsed after such a mistake. Instead, this team rallied around its young netminder and played excellent defense in front of him.
“I loved our game,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we played hard. I thought we competed. I thought we controlled a lot of play. There was so much to like. We generated a lot of scoring chances. We had our five 2-on-1 opportunities. For whatever reason, it was a struggle to put the puck in the net tonight.”
Oilers goalie Devon Levi, 8-1-0, made 30 saves. His only blemish was a second-period shorthanded goal by Jaroslav Chmelar, who stormed out of the penalty box and whistled Mika Zibanejad’s pass over Levi’s glove. Chmelar has excelled since being recalled last week, scoring in two straight games.
“I was pretty much focused on just getting back enough to help the guys on the PK,” said 23-year-old Chmelar, whose smile shines whenever he scores. “When I saw the bounce, and I saw Mika, I knew he had his eyes up, so I tried to move my feet and get to the net as quickly as possible.”
Another part of the Rangers’ problem was their anemic power play, which ranks 24th in the NHL at 18.9%. The Rangers went 0-for-5 with the extra attacker, despite 12 shots on goal. Part of the problem was Zibanejad, a solid passer, but he rarely attempted his signature power-play one-timer.
Zibanejad overshot two cross-ice passes on odd-man rushes yesterday, denying himself two Grade-A shots. The top-line center only has three goals in 19 games this season, so he’s on track for 13, his fewest since 2012-13.
Especially against McDavid, the NHL’s best center and the fourth player in league history to record a season-opening 19-game point streak, it would have been nice to see Zibanejad contribute more offensively. Because of his penalty-killing prowess, he consistently leads all Rangers forwards in ice time. He needs to do more with the puck.
“Well, [a power-play goal] would have been nice,” Sullivan said. “At the end of the day, we had some looks. We had our opportunities. I thought there were moments when we were executing. I thought the biggest challenge for our power play tonight was the entries. I thought we lacked some speed.
“[Edmonton] did a pretty good job at making the stand at the line, but I think we’ve got to be willing to put pucks behind them when there’s no room on the entry and we don’t have speed. We could’ve done a better job generating more speed through the neutral zone that could have helped us on the entries.”
Maybe Zibanejad is hurt, or maybe he’s just trying to set up his younger teammates for more scoring chances. Nevertheless, he has a lethal shot when he’s healthy, especially on the power play, but his one-timer has rarely factored in on special teams this season.
Garand’s first-period turnover to McDavid was costly, but he was strong in net overall. He gave up a goal to Draisaitl three minutes into the second period that was millimeters away from being overturned for goalie interference. McDavid screened Braden Schneider, and the Rangers thought he might have interfered with Garand.
The officials made up for the Rangers’ missed challenge by assessing a debatable trip to Evan Bouchard, one of the league’s best defensemen, with less than five minutes left in the second period. Noah Laba was one of several Rangers, including Chmelar and Tye Kartye, who either scored or came close to scoring on a breakaway.
Overall, there was plenty to like about the Rangers’ play. They need to carry that momentum to Calgary tomorrow for their final game ever at the Scotiabank Saddledome (7:30 PM, 6:30 PM CST – MSG, DAZN). A win tomorrow will guarantee a split on their four-game road trip.
“It was physical,” Sullivan said. “They defend hard. We were playing hard. From that standpoint, you had to fight for your ice. I thought we did a pretty good job limiting their opportunities. McDavid and Draisaitl are two of the very best players in the game, and they’re hard to contain.”
Schedule
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): NYK vs. MIL; MSG, DAZN
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Rangers
