The Rangers leave Long Island with one of two points they desperately needed after falling short to the Islanders in overtime. Special teams and a rough start to the game was the difference maker in this one and unfortunately, a problem this franchise is all too familiar with. Luckily, the Bruins got pounced on by the Capitals in a 8-1 loss so this one point still keeps this Rangers moving forward. Lots to talk about on this trade deadline day so let's get into it.
The Rangers got off to a rough start in this one when one of their veterans made a rookie mistake. In an attempt to clear the puck out of the zone high and off the glass, Chris Kreider shot it into the stands leading to a delay of game penalty. Kreider did not have his best game and has been struggling as of recent but when the average age of your team is as young as ours is, you have to count on your older guys to make the right plays, Kreider did not do that here. To the power play the Islanders went and newly acquired forward Kyle Palmieri found his first as an Islander, 1-0 less than two minutes in. Following the early goal, the play would be very fast paced with some back and forth play but the Rangers could not get much
In the final ten seconds of the period, JG Pageau would find the back of the net off a quick shot and the Rangers would head to the second period down two goals. You have to imagine the Rangers did a lot of talking during the intermission about how they need to be better in this game, given the circumstances this game was a huge opportunity for the Rangers to stay alive in the playoff race. Libor Hajek would get the Rangers on the board with a big shot through traffic from the point. This would be the first of two from our third defensive pairing as Brendan Smith would tie the game up at two where it would stay for the remainder of regulation.
Much of the same pace of the game would be kept, right up through 3-0n-3 overtime when Ryan Pulock let a wrister go top shelf on Sheshterkin for his first of the season to secure the second point for his team. On the other side, the Rangers did get one of two possible points from their efforts, not best case scenario, but every point counts at this point. As long as they have a strong showing for their next stretch of games, they're still in respectable standing.
That being said, the Rangers will head out on a mini series against the New Jersey Devils as they will play each other for the next four games. The Rangers need to win at least three out of these next four if they want to remain in good standing. It will be even harder with the Bruins having picked up Taylor Hall in a trade to slow them down so again, every game going forward is going to be the most important game of the season.
That being said, the Rangers are off today but will certainly be busy as will every team around the league. The NHL Trade Deadline is today and several big moves have already been made. It still remains the consensus that the Rangers more likely than not will not be making any changes. They're not in a position to make a big acquisition and they're in no need to have a yard sale in search of more draft picks. Our depth charts are stacked with talent and it's already evident. Vitaly Kravtsov is now a couple of games into his NHL career and he's already starting to look more and more comfortable. The kid line is quietly becoming our best line with Lafreniere starting to score more and Kakko playing with more and more confidence.
It will be interesting to see if anything happens but don't be surprised if the Rangers roster looks exactly the same by the end of the day as it does this morning. The Rangers are back at it against the Devils tomorrow and this series with the Devils will be the closest thing to playoff type hockey. If this team wants a taste of the actual playoffs, they need to be dominate in these games to keep the playoff hope alive.
Chris Feldman
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