Rangers fall to Sharks, Quinn, Hunt claimed by Col, Reverse Retro jerseys (rangers)

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Rangers fall to Sharks, Quinn, Hunt claimed by Col, Reverse Retro jerseys

By Jan Levine

Oct 21, 2022 • 10:11 am

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The Rangers, in a game that had been marked by most - if not all - as a W in the standings found a way to lose 3-2 to the Sharks. David Quinn in his return to MSG got to walk out with his chest puffed out slightly after notching his first victory as coach of the Sharks. If you read the quotes below, you would think all was well in the first two periods. While it certainly was better than the third frame and overtime session, all was not perfect in those stanzas as well. New York is off today, will practice tomorrow and face Columbus at home Sunday followed by Colorado and Dryden Hunt on Tuesday.

Game Recap:

Lineup:: Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko Panarin-Trocheck-afrenière Blais-Chytil-Goodrow Vesey-Carpenter-Reaves

Lindgren-Fox Miller-Trouba Jones-Schneider

Shesterkin Halak

Scratches: Kravtsov, Hajek

A few thoughts: 1) Offense - mostly non-existent. Artemi Panarin and Filip Chytil scored for the Rangers (3-1-1) but that was it. James Reimer was tested somewhat but was not under siege at all. A San Jose team that lost 5-2 to the Islanders and came in with five straight losses found a way to hang around, dominate late and garner the extra point. 

San Jose had the best penalty kill and the Rangers one of the best power plays. It was immovable object meets an irresistible force and the immovable object won. The Sharks PK stoned the New York PP setting the tone for the evening.

The only reason why the Rangers notched - not earned - a point was because Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves, including 16 on as many shots in the third period. That last stanza was brutal, as New York had just two shots in the third, none for a stretch of 13:50, and were outshot 16-2 in the period. The Winnipeg loss was due largely to heavy legs after three games in four nights and mistakes made due to fatigue. Yesterday was inexcusable

2) Quotes - if you read the post-game quotes from coach Gerard Gallant and captain Jacob Trouba you would think the issues started in the third period. To me, that was not the case. San Jose didn't have a lot of shots the first two periods, but the majority of them were high-danger chances, forcing Igor to make big saves. 

"I was pretty happy with the first two periods, to be honest with you," Gallant said. "We didn't execute as well as we usually do on the power play and got frustrated a little bit, but we still pretty well dominated the play. I think they had nine shots after two. So we were in good shape, we played well, but that third period, I have no idea where that came from. It was just a total collapse. It was embarrassing, actually."

"Just a little too sloppy in transition, breaking pucks out, the passes weren't as crisp as they should be, but those happen," Trouba said. "You're not going to be on every night, but you've got to know how to play your game and adjust your game when you don't have it. You've got to simplify a little bit. I don't think we did that. I think we tried to force a little too much."

This quote to me is more telling and is a topic discussed by Gallant in the past. Focusing solely on offense without maintaining defensive structure may be fun hockey to watch but not a recipe for success. A happy medium is needed. Yesterday, though, I don't think this was the issue, as New York failed to drive play overall.

"That’s not a formula that’s going to breed success in this league,… Trouba said. “You look at successful teams, they're good defensively and when the offense comes it comes. That defensive piece needs to get dialed in. We’re trying to create too much with defense jumping in when we don’t need to. It’s not an offensive free-for-all, it’s a hockey game. We’ve got to play defense too.…

3) Hunt passed through 30 teams before he was claimed by Colorado. The Avalanche lost Lucas Sedlak on waivers to Philly and Gabriel Landeskohg underwent knee surgery, sidelining him for at least 12 weeks, creating a hole in the team's lineup. Hunt will fill a bottom-six role and gets an immediate chance at revenge with Colorado in New York on Tuesday. My view on exposing him to waivers has been made fairly clear, and seeing how poor the bottom-six, save for Chytil played yesterday, he could have been a useful piece.   4) Lines - with the loss, look for Vitali Kravtsov, who returned to practice this week, to get back in the lineup with Ryan Carpenter, who returned from his injury last night, to be scratched. I would go with Vesey-Chytil-Kravtsov and Blais-Goodrow-Reaves as the bottom-six. Reaves could be the one to sit, as he has done little, and how long before Gustav Rydahl gets a chance?

5) Quinn - the Rangers showed Quinn on the big board, thanking him for his service, during which the fans booed. I get that fans bought the tickets and with that comes the right to boo, but that vociferously? Many view Quinn as having held back the young kids and his approach was likely better suited to the college game. But I felt the fans went overboard with the reaction last night.

6) Reverse Retro Jerseys: The NHL announced the 32 reverse retro jerseys yesterday. New York's version is relatively similar to what was rolled out two years ago with a handful of changes noted below. My view on this: I would have preferred the blue that matched the 1996 version, but this blue is okay. The jersey needs silver, like the original version, on the sleeves to make the change from red to blue stand out. In addition, I would have preferred a return to the white version of the jersey. Sticker shock is a clear component here as the Rangers and league are selling the jerseys for $300, yipes.

- The Reverse Retro 2022 incorporates Rangers "Blueshirt" Royal Blue in the body complemented by red color-blocking and navy stripes. - The shoulder patches and crest tie back to the original jersey in white and silver. - The Current NHL Shield logo is remixed in vintage orange and black colors.

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