On what was a night to remember for Rangers fans, as Henrik Lundqvist was honored with his number 30 joining ten other Rangers greats in the rafters of the World's Most Famous Arena, fans, as well as the current Rangers, will want to forget what happened on the ice. The Rangers, who are without Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are now on a two game losing streak after dropping both games in this back to back stretch. The most troubling thing about these two losses were that they were both extremely winnable games. With just two games remaining before the all-star break, it couldn't come at a better time for this injured Rangers team, who's weaknesses are becoming more and more evident.
Once again, the Rangers got off to the right start, outshooting the Wild keeping them to just five shots and controlling most of the play. As the halfway mark of the period approached, Barclay Goodrow found the puck right on his stick in front of a wide open net to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Goodrow, who in the absence of Kakko has found himself on the line with Strome and Panarin has been thriving lately, this being his tenth goal of the season. Speaking of power forwards who are thriving, Chris Kreider continues to have a mind blowing season, scoring his 31st goal of the season off an insane backhander through his legs off a scramble in front of the net.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead to the second and would leave it right back at square one with a tied game. Just a couple minutes into the period, Freddie Gaudreau got tied up on a breakaway that resulted in a penalty shot. Shesterkin would do Hank proud as he read the move perfectly and made the save. The Wild were quickly and quietly getting themselves back into this game and as the period went on, Kevin Fiala let a heck of a wrist shot go that beat Shesterkin on the glove side. It wasn't long before former Ranger and best friend of Henrik Lundqvist scored to tie this game up. With Lundqvist in the booth with Sam and Joe, the goal came almost immediately after Hank finished saying "Don't let that guy score," If you were smart, you cashed in on the easy money that was Zuccarello scoring in this game.
To the third we go, where the Rangers would continue to be outshot after allowing 19 shots in the second. Less than two minutes in, Freddie Gaudreau would make up for missing his penalty shot attempt by sneaking a shot off the post and in past Shesterkin, giving the Wild a one goal lead. The Rangers would slowly pick up the pace after running around like chickens with their heads cut off. After playing sloppy hockey for a period and a half. the Rangers desperately pushed to tie the game up. With less than two seconds to go, the puck finally crossed the line but to everyone's dismay, the ref waved it off. According to said ref, the Rangers pushed Cam Talbot which resulted in the puck going into the net.
I've watched this replay countless times and I'm sorry, but if you saw Cam Talbot being put in a position where he was unable to make the save as a result of a Rangers played pushing him, I don't know what you were watching. The puck was loose and Talbot was sprawling out in attempts to continue making saves to keep the puck out. In the final seconds, the puck touched a Rangers stick and went in the net, it should've been a goal and I don't know how the league didn't reverse the call. Regardless, the Rangers shouldn't have put themselves in that position. This was a very winnable game and their struggles with playing a full sixty minute continues to be an issue. Overall, a disappointing end to a special night at the Garden that the Rangers frankly should've won.
At this point, the Rangers just need to hold on through these last two games and get to the all-star break. On top of needing their injured guys back, it's becoming more and more evident that this team not only needs to improve at 5v5, but need to run deeper if they really want to make a run at playoffs. Few have been as big on Julien Gauthier as I have over the years, and I've really liked Dryden Hunt's game over the course of the season but the Rangers need more. Especially if injuries come up later in the season or during playoffs, we lose a guy or two and all of a sudden we have one of those two in the top six. The Rangers need more depth and with the coming time off, I'll write about some options Chris Drury has and who should be on the top of his shopping list.
The Rangers are back at it tomorrow for a Sunday matinee at the Garden, hosting the Seattle Kraken for the first time ever. Hopefully the Rangers can take care of business and get back in the winning column before wrapping it up against the Florida Panthers. It will be imperative for this group to play a full 60 as they should be more than capable of winning this game. Carry the disappointment from this loss and channel that into intensity in the next game.
Chris Feldman
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