The Rangers propensity to play with fire burned them yesterday, as the Senators rolled to a 6-2 win. Defensive breakdowns galore were evident through the game, as New York was brutal in the neutral and their own zone. The only good news is the team has three days off until their contests versus Washington to work on some of the failings we have seen recently.
A few thoughts:
1) Igor Shesterkin was not helped out much by his defense yesterday but he is not fully absolvable in the loss. For the third time in four games and fifth in the seven contests since he returned from his four-game absence, Igor allowed at least three goals. Shesterkin has come up with big saves when needed but the consistency we saw in the past has been lacking. He looks slightly off, which has resulted in an increased goals-against average and decreased save percentage.
Shesterkin was actually vastly outplayed by Anton Forsberg. The Ottawa goalie made several brilliant saves to keep the Senators firmly in the lead, especially in the second period. New York generated several quality chances, only to be stoned by Forsberg.
2) Defensive issues: Vince Mercogliano in his column summed up the problems nicely: “The Rangers struggled to clear pucks out of their own zone, gave up too many opportunities in transition and were generally too loose defensively. They also lost key footraces, were on-and-off with their backchecking pressure and didn't receive enough timely saves from their goaltender.”
The poor defensive zone breakouts have led to a raft of turnovers and high-danger chances. This weakness contributed to Ottawa’s first two goals. The Senators created tons of odd-man rushes to the point where you almost expected one each time up the ice and were surprised when the Rangers were even up in their own zone.
3) Top line struggles: at 5v5, the Mika Zibanejad line − which began with Chris Kreider and Jonny Brodzinski, but got shaken up after Barclay Goodrow's injury − was outshot, 7-3, while allowing four HDCF and generating only one. Against San Jose, that trio also was outshot and outchanced, so you have to wonder a little bit if this unit will remain together against Washington. Few other options exist, at least until Filip Chytil returns.
4) Goodrow was hit in the face by a K’Andre Miller pass and missed the remainder of the first as well as the last two periods. His absence created some line shuffles but was not the reason for the loss. But New York can ill-afford to be down another forward with Chytil and Kaapo Kakko out.
5) Slow starts: remember when the Rangers jumped out to early leads and put pressure on their opponent to be the one chasing? That has not been the case lately. Too often New York has come out slow out of the locker room, allowing the other team to take okay to them, putting the Blueshirts on their heels. New York has shown the ability to rally, especially late, but that’s not a recipe for continued success.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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