The Rangers saw their three-game win streak end falling 3-0 to the Jets, or more precisely Patrik Laine, on Tuesday. Winnipeg carried play much of the first two periods, but new York did have chances to score. The effort was there throughout, the execution just was lacking, resulting in a shutout for Steve Mason in his first game back from a concussion.
Game recap:
MSG Post-game:
In terms of overall numbers, as the SNY Rangers Blog noted, the Rangers put 31 shots on goal and attempted 29 other shots, 14 of which were blocked and 15 of which missed the net. That's close to a 50-50 ratio of shot attempts that found the net. At 5 on 5 the Rangers were out-attempted 60 to 54 and out-shot 32-30 but had 26 scoring chances for, to 25 for the Jets and 12 high danger chances for, to 5 against for the Jets. Twelve those shots came in the third period, when Winnipeg took their foot off the gas a bit, allowing New York to generate offense. In the first two periods, the shots on goal were 28-19 Jets, as defensive mistakes created opportunities for Winnipeg.
Laine natural hat trick, which of course happened, as it was the only three goals in the game, gave the Finnish sniper 39 markers for the season. He doesn't need much room and the way he shoots - as explained by Steve Valiquette in the MSG post-game video above - fools goalies. Lundqvist said the same: "There's a few players in the league that have a certain shot where they make you believe one thing and do something different." Tuesday's contest was the third straight multi-goal game for Laine, who has nine goals in his past five games and 13 in his past nine. In addition, Laine, became the third player in NHL history to score at least four hat tricks before turning 20 years old. Let the arguments of Auston Matthews vs. Laine commence.
On the first goal, Paul Stastny set a moving pick on John Gilmour, allowing Laine time and space. Laine's second goal was created by a nice play from Ben Chariot, who dropped the puck to Laine, the trailer, and then took the d-man and Ryan Spooner with him. That gave Laine time and space to cut to the middle and beat Henrik Lundqvist. Hank was strong again in this contest, stopping 31 of 33 shots. The defense got better as the game wore on, but the inability to finish resulted in the loss.
Mats Zuccarello, who has had a snake bit season, had the two best scoring chances for the Rangers. He hit the post on a wrap around in the first period, though Chariot was able to get his stick on the puck, deflecting it, causing it to skitter across the crease and hit the post. Zucc could have shot it earlier, before going around the net, but he did get a quality shot. In the second, a beautiful feed from Jimmy Vesey went to a wide-open Zucc at the post, but his shot went into Mason's skate rather than the open side of the net. after tallying 26 goals two years ago, Zucc fell to 15 last year, but with 44 assists, and is at only 10 this year. He realizes the difficult time he is having scoring, but at least the second one should have been buried, possibly changing the game.
"That's just how it goes right now," Zuccarello said. "I know I'm not a good goal scorer, but those should go in. ... It's tough but I thought we played an okay game. A little sloppy at times but we're playing a good team. I think we created a lot of chances that we couldn't get in and that's tough."
The Jets (40-17-9), who have won three straight and are 8-2-0 in their past 10, are six points behind the Predators for first place in the Central Division. If Mason can be a solid backup to Connor Hellebuyck and Jacob Trouba does come back after the team's current road trip, that lengthens an already solid lineup. However, all bets are off if Mark Scheifele's upper body injury from last night sidelines him any length of time. But it does make the acquisition of Stastny, especially for what they paid, look even better,
With the loss, the Rangers (30-31-6) are now seven points behind the Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Given the upcoming schedule, which I will list again now, makes the playoffs is a long shot at best. After losing to Winnipeg 3-0, Tampa, Florida, Carolina and Pittsburgh are the next four on the docket. Following these four games, contests versus St. Louis, Columbus and Pittsburgh follow, after which it's Washington (home-and-road), Tampa (last home game) and Carolina (road) to close out March. In April, New York faces the Devils, Islanders and Flyers, all on the road.
US Women's Hockey team honored: