The Rangers once again came out flat, falling behind 3-0 in the first period to Montreal. New York rallied to tie the game at four in the third period, but allowed the Canadiens to take the lead and hold on for a 5-4 win. The game was not the most aesthetically pleasing to watch with mistakes galore, but Montreal made at least one fewer one to pick up the victory.
Game recap:
The NY Daily News summarized the start of the game very well, mirroring the view of the fan base:
The way the Rangers started this game was a complete and utter disgrace, as embarrassing of a period as they've played in recent memory, a team-wide ineptitude which is an extremely poor reflection of the men behind the bench, especially the one in the middle
Read these quotes and tell me they don’t look familiar, as I believe they have become the standard post-game reaction:
“There was no effort; Montreal came out hard and totally dominated the first period. You can’t win that way,” said coach Alain Vigneault, who seems more discouraged and perplexed by the day. “We didn’t have a D-pair that could make a pass. The goalie had nothing to do with 19-2 shots. We’re 3-7-2, that’s alarming to me right now.”
“When someone questions your effort level and compete, it’s not a good feeling,” captain Ryan McDonagh said. “You want to prove it to yourself and prove it as a group that that’s not what we’re about, that’s not acceptable, that’s not who we are.”
“Lack of energy, a lack of compete,” McDonagh said. “We have the same lines and D-pairs for a couple of games. That’s no excuse, there is no excuse. We were embarrassed there. We showed fight, but the first period sticks out. We’ve said it 100 times, it’s something we can control.”
Alain Vigneault post-game interview:
It’s become lather, rinse, repeat with this team. Same mistakes over and over. Someone needs to take the blame for it. Part of it is on the coaching staff but also a lot has to be blamed on the players. I doubt that the system calls for two players to go to the corner and leave the slot open or scramble around their own zone with no rhyme or reason or structure. Maybe the team has tuned over AV but all of this can’t be his fault. But usually a coach goes since all the players can’t be dealt.
Rumors surfaced last night from Elliott Friedman that the Rangers were shopping Chris Kreider with Edmonton mentioned as a posisble destination. I understand maybe dealing CK20 due to his lack of a sustainable level of play and pockets of nonproduction. But there are several others I can name just as bad or worse than him, see Miller, J.T. Plus if it’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Ryan Strome coming back with a pick, count me out. One of my fears is that if you deal Kreider, he will find the formula that unlocks his full potential and he becomes the power forward we all hope he will be. In addition, where has RNH met his potential and how would handle New York?
Mistakes galore throughout the game, but especially in the first when they were a turnover machine, keeping the team penned in their own zone much of the frame. Plus, even when they didn’t turn the puck over, the handoffs of coverage in their own zone were horrifically poor. Each goal came as a result of a mistake in coverage.
Goal #1: Kevin Shattenkirk, who likely should be benched as his defense has been even worse than advertised, and Marc Staal left Paul Byron alone between the circles and Jonathan Drouin’s pass found him. Byron immediately zipped a wrister high past Ondrej Pavelec’s glove at 7:51.
Goal #2: With Mats Zuccarello in the box, Brendan Smith was knocked down by the end boards on a Brendan Gallagher hit. Nick Holden came over and by virtue of being out of position, Alex Galchenyuk converted for a 2-0 lead at 11:09.
Goal #3: A bad hop over McDonagh’s stick in the neutral zone resulted in an odd-man break. Pavelec made the first save but allowed a rebound, and with the Rangers scrambling once again, Philip Danault - who scored the game-winner later- made it 3-0 at 13:15 of the period.
Newsday clearly laid out several of the offenders fairly clearly. Vesey, who was at fault for one of the goals in the first period due to his poor coverage, was clamped to the bench after the first period; he played just five shifts the rest of the night . . . Kevin Hayes had just two shots; Miller had none, which are embarrassing totals for a pair of top-nine forwards. Because AV shortended his lineup, Boo Nieves played just 9:20 in the game.
If there were any positives in the game, it was the play of Pavel Buchnevich and Rick Nash. Buch is on a roll and he and Vesey should swap line spots next game so Buch gets more minutes. He looks like a much different player this season, more confident on the Ice and what he has capable of doing on it. Nash has been a beast lately, carrying play on both ends, but especially offensively. It would be great if the rest of the lineup had that compete level.
We will see what happens before Tuesday’s game against Vegas. But I hope the team doesn’t make a stupid deal to try and spark the squad. If this level of play continues, either a player or the coach will become the fall guy.
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