The Rangers fell 5-3 to the Maple Leafs on Saturday, New York was tied 1-1 after two periods, but you had the sense the floor could cave in. Eight straight shots and two goals 5:26 into the period gave Toronto a 3-1 lead. New York closed to within one twice and pressured late but couldn't get the equalizer. Mitch Marner's empty-net goal sealed the win, though I still think he closed his hand around the puck or at at minimum threw it forward, which should have been a penalty,
Game recap:
David Quinn Post-Game:
“I love the fact that we battled back.… #NYR Coach Quinn pic.twitter.com/cHODdAtH36
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 23, 2018
A few thoughts:
1) Kevin Hayes - another big game by Hayes. A goal and an assist. Strong throughout the contest. The only mild criticism is that at the end of the game, he should have gone to the net rather than trying the pass back to Neal Pionk, which landed in his skates and resulted in Marner's empty netter, sealing the loss. I am letting everyone else weigh on the trade/ not trade Hayes debate for now, as I will just and sit back and enjoy watching him play.
2) Neal Pionk - by far the Rangers' best blueliner, though I also thought Marc Staal had a decent game. A howitzer of a goal to tie the game at one. Assisted on Hayes' tally. Played a strong, physical game and seems to have gotten past his small dip in play a little while ago.
3) Brady Skei was paired again with McQuiad. As Larry Brooks noted, the hope was that playing with an older, more traditional defense-oriented defenseman will enable Skjei to work through his crisis of confidence and issues in his game as opposed to his pairing with the more offensive minded, more mercurail Tony DeAngelo, who was scratched Saturday. At least Skjei is cognizant of his issues and recognizes what he needs to do to be better.
“Part of my problem has been trying to do too much,… Skjei, a healthy scratch three times thus far, said. “And my play is my responsibility, not my partners. Tony or Adam shouldn’t get any blame if I don’t play up to my capability.“I’ve talked about it before, but there were times I put too much pressure on myself. I need to keep it simple and solid and be decisive. I feel that my game has been coming back, but it has to be on a much more consistent basis.…
Saturday, Skjei and McQuaid weren't great. Skjei was a minus-two, McQuaid, a minus-three plus his hold of William Nylander and cross-check of Nazem Kadri in the same sequence resulting in a four-minute power play for the Leafs. Skjei did assist on the first goal of the game, but needed to be a lot stronger on Marner's second of the game. Either play the puck or the player, but he lost a 50-50 puck to John Tavares, who made a brilliant pass to Marner.
4) Alexandar Georgiev - played a pretty good game, making 31 saves. hard to fault him for any of the goals. Not aided by his d-man or forwards a lot.
5) Filip Chytil - brilliant move through the legs to set up Hayes' goal. Seems to get better and better each game. Not phased by speed of the game and willing to pay the price to score or set up a teammate.
6) Ryan Strome - had an empty net late in second and couldn't convert. Failed to pick up Morgan Rielly down the slot, resulting in the third goal against. Hasn't showed me much at all lately. when Cody McLeod or Jesper Fast is ready to return, I look for Strome to be the odd-man out.
7) Lias Andersson - really liked his game yesterday, Was physical, set up his teammates, solid defensively. Finally saw some time late in the period and showed he warranted more. Only played 10:27 but in my opinion, should have received additional ice time.
8) Special teams - a concern coming in due to how good the Toronto PP is. Penalty kill was good, including a four-man kill thanks to McQuaid's antics. The power play also went 0-for-2. With DeAngelo, the point man on the second power play unit, not playing, Quinn dropped first unit point man Pionk to the second unit, and played five forwards on the first unit, putting Vlad Namestnikov up front and playing Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello at the points alongside Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. They generated some pressure but didn't beat Frederik Andersen