The Rangers, whose cold streak started with a post-Thanksgiving Day beat down by the Flyers, failed to exact revenge Sunday, falling 3-2 in a shootout. New York jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first before Philly tied it early in the second and took the lead in the third. Boo Nieves notched his first of the season to knot the game at two. Neither side scored the rest of the way and in the overtime with both Henrik Lundqvist and Michael Neuvirth making spectacular saves. Nolan Patrick scored the lone goal of the shootout, beating Lundqvist in the fourth round before Kevin Hayes was unable to extend it despite having an open net to the short side. Mats Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich all came up empty before him with Lundqvist also stopping the first three Philly shooters. The Blueshirts are off for the Xmas break until Thursday when they face the red-hot Blue Jackets at home.
Condensed game:
David Quinn Post-Game:
Coach Quinn gives his postgame reaction and how he will be spending the break. pic.twitter.com/vKJfU3pnLs
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 24, 2018
A few thoughts: 1) Kevin Hayes continues to raise his trade value and AAV on his new deal. His brilliant defensive chip, then spin-o-rama dish found a streaking Chris Kreider on the wing, CK20's low wrister beat Neuvirth for the 1-0 lead for his team-leading 17th goal of the year at 10:05 of the first period. He was unable to beat Neuvirth in the shootout but was brilliant throughout the contest.
#NYR @KevinPHayes12 now with a career-high 7 game point streak!
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 24, 2018
Hayes has 13 points (five goals and eight assists) over the span. pic.twitter.com/HRxvbDN2bL
2) Marc Staal - another solid game by Staal. I know the fanbase has tired of him and would love him moved elsewhere, but he has been the team's most consistent blueliner. He did get burned pinching, which led to the first Philly goal, more on that below, but was very present in the offensive and defensive zones.
3) Neal Pionk - similar advanced metrics to Staal. Misplayed the 2-on-1 goal to a certain extent. The mantra is usually let the goalie take the shot or force the pass, if you can be enough an impediment to not allow a clear slot-line look. Pionk below, as he did against Vegas when William Carrier scored, gave Michael Raffl so much room, the shot was too easy. If he is over a foot with his stick making the pass harder, Raffl's doesn't have as much time and road to easily beat Lundqvist.
Michael Raffl goal:
This is what I’m referring to regarding Pionk and his 2 on 1 coverage. He is so far over for the pass that he’s basically giving Raffl a breakaway here.
— David Shapiro (@BlueSeatBlogs) December 24, 2018
Would love a @VallysView breakdown here to see if I’m over analyzing. Pionk does this regularly. pic.twitter.com/sWq15ekf4i
4) Too many men on the ice penalty - I thought New York had fixed this problem, they got burned by this yesterday. The Rangers were whistled for too many men on the ice at 4:53 of the third period and quickly paid for it as the Flyers needed just eight seconds to break the tie. Philly won the draw, Sean Couturier deflected a shot and the puck rebounded off the post into the crease for Wayne Simmonds to push into the open net and a 2-1 lead.
5) Nieves netted his first scored 22 seconds later to tie the game at two. Really good play by Lias Andersson, who forced a turnover before making the pass to Nieves, whose one-timer from the slot beat Neuvirth. Andersson again was noticeable in just over 10 minutes of action.
6) Lundqvist and Neuvirth - both goalies played well. Hank stopped 29-of-31 shots, including a few big saves in overtime. Neuvirth made 32 saves, including several great stops down the stretch in the third.
Henrik Lundqvist Post-Game
“Take this break, regroup and realize how desperate we need to be coming back.… - #NYR Henrik Lundqvist pic.twitter.com/NugStlkeXi
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 24, 2018
7) Five forwards on power play - time to end this experiment. Move Pionk back onto the first unit in place of Mats Zuccarello, who only looks to pass and has slowed down the puck movement on the man-advantage. Zucc hasn't done much of all since returning from his groin injury, though I don't expect a line change anytime soon.
Quinn again went with Vlad Namestnikov up front alongside Kreider and Hayes with Mika Zibanejad and Zuccarello at the points. New York needs a PP QB, a role Pionk can fill. In addition, move Zib back to the left dot, where his one-timer, aiding by a Kreider screen, resulted in several goals.