The Rangers left Los Angeles with a point but you can easily argue they should have had one more. On the flip side, if you watched the first two period, the counter argument is that they were lucky to be in the lead, so maybe the end result matches what should have happened. That said, a 3-1 lead in the third, even on the road against a strong physical team, should not be blown. But this isn't the squad that in the past locked down leads. Instead they are one that you pace and panic and fret and bite your nails hoping - not expecting - they will hold on.
Los Angeles came in waves early on. Over and over they pinned New York deep and the Rangers were hanging on for dear life. A blown coverage in front by JT Miller, resulted in a wide open Tanner Pearson in front but Henrik Lundqvist came up with a huge save. The puck came to Miller who streamed down the right side of the ice. Kevin Klein went to the net creating even more for Miller who picked out and went top shelf over Jonathan Quick's glove for a 1-0 lead.
The edge was short lived. Right off the face off, which no surprise yesterday, NY lost, LA got the puck in deep. Dustin Brown basically carried Dan Boyle, making him look old and weak. A delayed penalty was going to result anyway but Brown was able to get free enough to put a hard shot on net. Marc Staal couldn't move Carter from the front of the bet and Brown’s shot goes through Carter’s screen. 1-1, 19 seconds later. I know Carp didn't have an issue with Boyle there. To me what it shows is that Boyle lacks the physical strength to hold off some wingers. Plus, and hindsight is always 20-20, if Boyle is a half a stride back and takes the angle, Brown can't get the shot off, as Boyle would be in front of him.
The second was much like the first. LA came in waves, NY did their best to hold them off. But the Rangers started to generate some offense. The line goal scored in the period was an odd one. Good defense and a little breakout pass by Ryan McDonagh gave Viktor Stalberg room to go down the wing. Stalberg tried to dish it down low but it deflected off an LA skate back to Stalberg. He then blindly put the puck to the middle of the ice ad was bailed out when Boyle got there. Boyle used a Luke Schenn screen in front to beat Quick up high for the 2-1 lead.
In the third, New York took a 3-1 lead. Miller with good hustle kept the play alive. The puck bounced off a few bodies and came to Kevin Hayes, who used a deflection off the defenseman to beat Quick for the dreaded two-goal bulge. You just knew LA would raise their play and the Rangers would go into a shell. Both happened and those factors coupled with some poor match ups resulted in the two goals against in regulation and then overtime loss.
From Carp: "two minutes after the Hayes goal, the Rangers were stuck with Yandle-Girardi, Nash-Brassard-Zuccarello on the ice. Yandle, who really was not good last night, coughed it up in the middle. Girardi chased the puck to the top of the left circle and beyond, leaving a gaping hole in front. Brassard had it covered, was right there, but his skates were in cement, and he turned into a spectator as Kyle Cliffored, uncontested, made it 3-2.." This next part is the key and why coaching and managing match ups is so important, especially when trying to hold a lead and on the road. "Once more … you CANNOT have those five guys on the ice together against a team like that. A line with your leading goal scorer, your leading point scorer and your most gifted, normally responsible forward – and they can’t be trusted."
Nash was to provide that defensive conscience and presence, but it wasn't enough yesterday. Zuccarello, who used to be much better in his own zone, has regressed mightily while Brassard has never been good in this regard. Then add in the defensively challenged Yandle along with a struggling Girardi and you have a recipe for disaster. What makes it even worse is that AV continued to throw out this five-man unit despite seeing how badly they were dominated.
Now the game tying goal. If you didn't have flashbacks to the Stanley Cup Finals, you aren't a Rangers fan. Shot from the upper part of the zone, double screen in front and Anze Kopitar, more from him later, who killed the Rangers and it was tied. But as you watched live and then saw the replay, it was pretty clear Tyler Toffoli impeded Lundqvist's ability to move in the crease. The only question was if Toffoli was pushed into Lundqvist and was unable to avoid the contact.
AV challenged, which was the right thing to do and keeping that challenge is likely why he didn't use his timeout in the first when NY was gassed and they iced the puck. The review was quick and it was decided that it was a good goal. As Pat Leonard noted, the NHL’s emailed ruling said officials Dean Morton and Brian Pochmara “determined that the actions of New York’s Ryan McDonagh caused Los Angeles’ Tyler Toffoli to contact Lundqvist before the puck crossed the goal line,… citing Note 2 of Rule 78.7 (ii).
The entire team and fanbase but especially Lundqvist disagreed with this call. Lundqvist said: "As a goalie when you try and make a save you have a forward motion, and he (Toffoli) doesn't make any effort to get out, and I can't believe the refs after watching it (on video review) not getting it right. You get the chance to watch so I think you should be able to get it right. It's a tough goal to accept." Watching it many times there is no question McD made original contact with Toffoli. It's also clear that Toffoli had time after that contact to get out of the crease and avoid Lundqvist. Plus, McD is in front of Toffoli at the top of the blue, so there's no way that he prevented Toffoli from being able to move from inside the crease. In 2014, there was no review. In 2016, it was a lousy ruling on one and in both instances, the end result was a goal.
Fifteen times now these Rangers have dry-heaved a tying or go-ahead goal in the last five minutes of a game. The team that used to be lockdown central in the third has become a sieve. That's on the construction of the squad along with match up decisions made throughout a contest.
Overtime in LA, gee I wonder what could go wrong? We found out pretty quickly. As noted above, having the five man defensively bereft crew on is not a good thing. Taking two off and leaving three on means that it's not any better. Yandle aimed for a home run, missed and it led to an icing. As Carp noted: Darryl Sutter was able to get Jeff Carter and Kopitar out for an offensive-zone draw that Brassard would have to take. Of course, the Kings did what they did most of the game, win a key offensive draw, which put NY on their heels. Zuccarello didn’t get to Jake Muzzin, Kopitar deflected Muzzin’s shot and it was game over.
A point but it could have been more. The player usage, especially on the blue line, continues to be a problem. Below is the Final NYR 5 v 5 time on ice. McD and Klein make sense but how don't you move Staal up and G down, given how badly G struggled. In addition, this is why I wanted Brady Skjei to be taken on the trip and played last night:
Girardi- 20:04 McDonagh- 19:36 Klein- 19:48 Yandle- 18:41 Staal- 15:30 Boyle- 13:54
The season long issue of blowing leads came back to bite NY again last night. If AV continues to use G as the second line pairing and not break up the five man unit noted above, the issues we have seen will continue to repeat themselves over and over. New York gets a chance at mild redemption Saturday against San Jose. But if they don't clean up these mistakes, especially the late-game collapses, the post season could be a short one.