Game 36: CLM 4 NYR 3, OT, Rangers blow another late-game lead, WJC update (rangers)

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Game 36: CLM 4 NYR 3, OT, Rangers blow another late-game lead, WJC update

By Jan Levine

Dec 28, 2018 • 12:20 am

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The Rangers blew another late-game lead, falling 4-3 to the Blue Jackets on Thursday. New York is repeating a pattern that existed the last few seasons under coach Alain Vigneault. When/if the Blueshirts have a late lead, cover your eyes, grab the chair a bit together and pray to whichever god you pray to in the hopes that the final score is in the team's favor. I wish I could pinpoint one area needing clean up, but a myriad of mistakes appear to always happen late in games, costing New York the lead. Be it talent, scheme, blown call, bad bounce, you name it, we have seen it.

Game recap:

David Quinn Post-Game:

Lines, same as last game:

David Quinn Pre-Game:

Transcript from the NYRangersnews.com. The most interesting parts to me were: 1) ADA out for the third straight day 2) Kevin Shattenkirk, Jesper Fast and Cody McLeod all day-to-day, meaning one or all three might be back Saturday.and 3) Quinn's view on Adam McQuaid and Brady Skjei together.

On the lineup, “same lineup.…

On Shattenkirk skating today, “he’s close, very close. Day to day to the point where he could be ready any day now. Wasn’t limited.…

On Fast, “he’s close. They are all close. We will see, hopefully for Nashville, they are that close.

On McQuaid and Skjei, “I think Brady has played well of late. Adam is finding his game with each one that goes by. Those guys have done a good job. Over the last three games, after the debacle we had against Vegas, we have been much better defensively. You play Toronto and their firepower and from our standpoint we gave up seven scoring chances against Anaheim, 16 against Toronto and 14 against Philly. If you are in that 15 area you have a great chance to win hockey games. We have been much better structurally and not giving up those crazy chances. People haven’t had flurries against us, that has been good to see. We didn’t play great against Philly but there is that structure you want to have so that when you don’t have a great night you have a chance to survive and win because you are committed to that defensive structure no matter what system you have or structure you are in.…

A few notes:

1) Kevin Hayes remained hot, tallying a point on Jimmy Vesey's goal, extending his point streak:

Hayes did have an uneven game, struggling defensively, including on Columbus' first goal and then game-winner. In addition, he lost the draw on the game-tying tally. Though, he wasn't happy about the puck drop on it. Read the twitter exchange and let me know your view.

2) Chris Kreider notched two goals last night, one on the power-play and one at even strength, giving him 19 on the year and putting him on pace to possibly hit the 40 mark this season. While CK20 my still be inconsistent from game to game, and sometimes shift to shift, you can see just how much of a difference maker he can and is learning to be.

Discussions have already started on Rangers' twitter and in the blog if he should be dealt to maximize his value. If CK20 is starting to become that power forward we all believe he could be, dealing him, even if for a huge return, may be very unwise. Larry Brooks discussed this in his column on the one-year anniversary of Kreider's life-altering health scare (https://nypost.com/2018/12/27/chris-kreiders-first-thought-on-health-scare-anniversary-alive/). This paragraph is the key.and is my view as well:

In two months, at the Feb. 25 trade deadline, teams may come calling on Kreider, who has one year at $4.625 million remaining on his contract. Unless management gets either a top-five draft selection or a young, projected top-pair right defenseman back, the Rangers should rely on their instincts and just say no, thank you, and be thankful for what they have.

3) Henrik Lundqvist was fairly solid overall. He would love to have David Savrd's goal back, but he was moving from left to right, making the save a bit tougher. New York, presuming you are not all in on the "tank." needs to find a way to close out a game. I am not blaming Lundqvist but he needs to find a way, within reason, to close the door regardless of the play in front of him.

4) Brendan Smith - another rough game. That player we saw down the stretch and in the playoffs after he was acquired sure looks like an aberration. He could be the odd man out Saturday against Nashville for ADA or possibly Shattenkirk, if he is ready.

5) Goal review - I don't think this is why the rule was written, but the challenge and subsequent offsides, correct, might I add, cost the Rangers and Ryan Strome a pretty goal and 4-2 lead with 4:36 left in regulation. Of course, Zack Werenski scored the game-tying goal on a shot that deflected off Marc Staal with just 2:20 remaining and Pierre-Luc Dubois won the game 31 seconds into overtime. The NHL isn't changing the rule anytime soon, but regardless on if we like or agree with how the challenge works and inanity at times of splitting hairs to see if a player was offsides, protect the lead and win the damn game.

World Juniors: Vitali Kravtsov with a goal and an assist for Team Russia in their 4-0 win over Denmark: He showed a quick release and excellent puck-handling skills. A very solid first game for Kravtsov, who also saw some time in the middle.

Nils Lundqvist:

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