The Rangers dropped a 1-0 decision to the Penguins on Saturday. In a game with a playoff-like atmosphere, Pittsburgh capitalized on their power play - which was somewhat of a questionable call - while New York was unable to convert on their opportunity late. Both goalies played well, Tristan Jarry made one more save than Igor Shesterkin, who was brilliant again, resulting in the win for the home team.
Game recap:
A few thoughts: 1) Strong start - for the first time in seemingly forever, the Rangers got off to a strong start and carried play early on. The shot disparity in favor of New York was 8-1 at one point, before Pittsburgh turned the tide. A.rough second really tilted the ice towards the home team before the Blueshirts turned it on late to get the equalizer.
2) Third line - really, it's the fourth line for the Rangers. Filip Chytil was a healthy scratch. The reasoning given by coach Gerard Gallant was that he felt the team played well the other night with the implication that he didn't want to make a change. Morgan Barron dressed in place of Chytil, and in the contest, Greg McKegg played center while Barron shifted to wing.
Each member of the Greg McKegg-Barron-Julien Gauthier saw less than nine minutes of action in the loss. Part of that was due to 4-on-4 and special teams play, but the trio played just 6:01 together. As a contrast, Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Rooney and Reaves logged 10:16 in the loss, a strong indication that this was really the third line.
Chytil serving as a healthy scratch, which might have also been the case Thursday, gives you a sense of his current standing with the organization. If Chytil sits again today against Vancouver, his already questionable trade value might plummet even more. My guess is he plays and Barron sits, because of course Gallant will have McKegg in the lineup, evidenced by this post-game comment: "Kegger is an experienced guy and we feel with our systems that an experienced guy is better in the middle right now".
3) Forwards - games like this are further indication that the third line needs an uplift. Can argue the same for the top-six with Dryden Hunt there, but the eventual - hopefully - return of Kakko Kappo will help. That said, given the wrist injury, who knows if he will be back. GM Chris Drury needs two forwards, who can either score or lengthen the lineup. Getting a scorer allows Hunt to slide down where he is better suited to play and also provides a hedge against Kakko not returning.
4) Standings - With the win, the Penguins wrestled possession of second place in the Metropolitan Division away from the Rangers and snapped a three-game losing skid in the process. New York has two games in hand on Pittsburgh and sit five points shy of Carolina for first place with the 'Canes having one game in hand. Washington is six points shy of New York but have also played two more contests than the Blueshirts.
5) Larry Brooks' Slapshots Column:
I’ve got Colin Miller, the 29-year-old righty defenseman on an expiring contract with Buffalo, who played two seasons in Vegas for Gerard Gallant, as a possible depth acquisition on the Blueshirts’ blueline.We’re told that Hartford’s 20-year-old righty defenseman Hunter Skinner, the 112th overall draft selection in 2019, is attracting some interest as teams drill down on the Rangers’ pipeline beyond Nils Lundkvist, Zac Jones, Brennan Othmann, Matt Robertson and Will Cuylle.
Miller is a steady, stay at home blueliner, who would provide decent depth. Despite being a righty, Miller can play the left side, where he would slot best in New York given the right side already has Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba and Braden Schneider. Miller underwent surgery January 20 to address an undisclosed injury and will be sidelined for at least six weeks, putting his potential return date at the beginning of March. If he does come back then, teams will have about two weeks to confirm he is healthy before possibly pulling the trigger on acquiring him.
Skinner was viewed by many as a wasted pick when he was selected but has worked his way into being a potentially viable blueline or trade option. He is not a top tier, rather second or third tier prospect, but could be used to bring back an asset that could help the team and maybe in the future. Good for Skinner for working his way into that status.