After another disappointing loss, the Rangers are now 3-4-3 through their most recent ten, putting them at a total of 6-5-3 on the season. Last night’s loss to the Islanders is not only their third loss in a row, but their second loss in a row where they’ve blown a lead to a team playing in their second half of respective back to backs. Poor officiating, bad luck, in a rut, whatever you want to call it, this team needs to turn things around sooner rather than later. I’ve exhausted the saying to this point but the wins are always easier to get at the beginning of the season and as we are approaching the finale of the season's first quarter, the concerns are beginning to outweigh the positives regarding this team.
Despite the loss, the team didn’t play all that bad last night. They out-shot the Islanders 40-26 and up until the third period, had a 3-1 lead on them. Sure enough, the Islanders came alive in the third period and got some help from the refs that limited the Rangers chances. Three goals from Adam Pelech, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee catapulted the Islanders into a third period lead and left the Rangers with their third loss in a row. When I say the Isles got some help from the refs, it was more so regarding a couple of missed calls that would’ve resulted in Rangers power plays, especially the trip on Kaapo Kakko. At the end of the day however, this team can not be looking for excuses. As frustrating as it is, they just have to keep working through this.
Positives that came from the game. The Rangers went two for four on the power play, with Chris Kreider continuing on his point streak and Vincent Trocheck staying hot, both resulting in the players fifth goal of the season. In addition to the power play’s success, Filip Chytil, who is just a couple of games back after missing six with an injury, got the Rangers going with their first goal of the night for his third on the season. He centered a line with Krieder and Vitaly Kravtsov, who also made a return from injury tonight, which has the potential to be a very solid third line if Lafreniere succeeds on the second line. We’ll talk a little more about that in a bit. From an all around standpoint, the team looked a lot better than they did against Detroit which is a huge positive but again, these third period collapses are becoming a huge problem with this team. They out-hit and out-worked the Islanders in the face-off circles and at times, completely outplayed them.
Gerard Gallant and company tested out some new line combinations in tonight’s outing that definitely piqued the interest of many fans. With Kreider moving to the third line with Chytil and Krav, Panarin slotted in on the left side of Zibanejad and Kakko. This left Trocheck and Lafreniere with Jimmy Vesey which is a bit reminiscent of the second line Dryden Hunt experiment we spent far too long with last season. Vesey definitely has more of a goal scoring ability than Hunt might have had and had a pretty good chance on a partial breakaway last night. I don’t mind Vesey slotting in there in the short term, especially while the team tries to find some kind of spark through this slump. However long term, either Kreider needs to get back in the top-six, Kravtsov needs to work his way up there or they need to make a trade. (not Kane)
Sammy Blais is becoming another hot topic among Rangers fans, especially on Twitter. He spent last night on the fourth line with Carpenter on the right wing for the first time this season and Barclay Goodrow in the middle. Through eleven games played this season, Blais is a +1 and has two assists. Aside from that and bringing an occasionally noticeable physical presence, Blais hasn’t really stood out a ton. It’s important to remember that so far, Blais has currently played in the same amount of games this season as he played in total last season. Coming back from an ACL injury is incredibly difficult not to mention whatever other injury affected him at the start of this season. While it’s certainly fair to want more out of him, we have to be patient with him. This is a guy who has played in almost 150 career games, can put up numbers and has won a Stanley Cup. In regards to his situation, it’s okay to play the “it’s still early” card. If he can get back to where he was and start producing, he could easily slot in on the right side of Trocheck and Lafreniere or anywhere in the top nine.
On the back end, it’s clear that without Lindgren or any of their top five defensemen, this team is at a huge disadvantage. Ryan Lindgren, who was injured in the game against Boston, is still listed as day-to-day but has missed both of the Rangers recent games. Zac Jones, was benched during the Islanders game which made the Rangers depth issue all the more concerning. Braden Schneider hasn’t been much of a standout and is likely best used with a veteran partner which the Rangers don’t have at the moment. You have to think Fox/Lindgren and Trouba/Miller are locked in to the Rangers top four and if Jones can’t be trusted to be an everyday constant in the Rangers pairings, management needs to start consider trading for a reliable defender that’s Justin Braun esk or ideally better.
A common theme with how these first stretches of games have gone, a theme that’s becoming more and more pressing as losing streaks become more common is the question of whether we need to panic or not. The Rangers have one game at home this Sunday against the Coyotes and are otherwise, on the road for six games. In that stretch, they have Detroit, Nashville, Seattle, San Jose, LA, and Anaheim. Realistically, these are all teams the Rangers should beat. Factoring in back to backs and the travel factor, a realistic goal/expectation for this team should be to go at LEAST 5-2 before Thanksgiving. Anything less, it might be time to put the tips of our fingers on that panic button.
Fewer things benefit teams in slumps like a little team bonding, therefore you have to feel hopeful that this group can figure it out on this upcoming road trip. As many of the players mentioned in postgame last night, it’s more so mental at this point versus their actual performance. The team played well last night and as Gerard Gallant said, they probably did deserve to win that game. They just have to find their way there, playing a full sixty minutes has been a problem among all the others and if they can just bear down and focus in on giving 110% until that very last buzzer.
A couple other roster notes to make after these last couple of games, Julien Gauthier is in the day-to-day category alongside Ryan Lindgren after being banged up in his last outing. Ryan Reaves, has been a healthy scratch for quite a few games now which has kind of been a long time coming. As important as Reaves’ contributions to this team are, at the end of the day he is an enforcer on the wrong side of thirty. It’s not likely he will be playing night in and night out, especially with how well Gauthier has been since his call up. It’ll be interesting to see if management opts to send anybody down once everyone is at 100% healthy as the salary cap situation continues to be a looming concern behind all the on ice concerns.
The Rangers need more from a lot of guys but primarily, it’s their bottom six and their group of defenders as a whole that need to be better. While Sammy Blais can still be given the benefit of the doubt, Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Carpenter need to do more on both ends of the ice. Especially with how much money Goodrow makes, he needs to find ways to be productive in more noticeable ways. It’s been hard for the Rangers to really find any chemistry with their fourth line given all the injuries and roster moves. If the Rangers can find some consistency with their top nine and find something that works on this road trip, it can be a good opportunity to build some chemistry on all four lines. If Jimmy Vesey is going to stay in the top six, he’s going to have to find that goal scoring touch that got him into this league his first time around Broadway. Assuming he hangs on that second line or at the very least on the third, Blais, Goodrow and Carpenter/Gauthier should look to get things going on the fourth line.
While it’s nice that the Rangers finally have a captain, it’s certainly come with some challenges as Jacob Trouba has been taking a lot of the backlash for how this team has been performing. Through 14 games, Trouba has four assists is a -3 and has been a bit inconsistent when it comes to making smart, reliable defensive plays. While this isn’t an excuse, you have to think there’s a ton of pressure on his shoulders, pressure that he’s certainly putting on himself as well as from others. As it will be for the team as a whole, this road trip will be a great chance for him to turn things around as he not only needs to keep this team on track, but needs to turn his game around quite a bit.
Lastly, Igor Shesterkin. Through ten starts, Igor is 6-2-2 which isn’t bad by any means. With a SV% of .910 and a GAA of 2.58, it’s fair to assume he would like to be better. Especially in games like last night where the team had the lead going into the third period and gave up three goals to lose the game. While he’s not all to blame for losing the game, with what the Rangers have in Igor Shesterkin, that’s a period where you want him to be able to steal a game for you. Something he hasn’t done much of this year. Again, the Rangers shouldn’t have to rely on Shesterkin to be better or even as good as he was last year, but every now and then, they’re going to need him to steal a game and last night likely would have been the time for that.
It’s been a frustrating start for this Rangers team but part of that is because of how high the expectations are. Sure, there have been a couple games the team had no business losing but that’s always going to happen. Trust me, it’s been a challenge to stay positive and many of games have ended in me aggressively turning the TV off but the skill is there. The ability is there and amidst all the negatives, there is a lot to be satisfied regarding this team. While it’s a saying that will make you want to roll your eyes in the moment, this group really does need to work through this right now and with the upcoming road trip, they have a great opportunity. If things don’t go well over the next two weeks, we’ll be having a very different discussion but in the meantime, regroup and get ready for a rematch with the Red Wings, tomorrow night in Detroit.
Chris Feldman
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