Three lessons from the Rangers 5-3 loss to the Capitals

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 24: Kevin Hayes #13 of the New York Rangers and Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals fight for the puck during the second period of the game at Madison Square Garden on November 24, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The New York Rangers dropped its second consecutive game in less than 24 hours, this time falling 5-3 to the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden.

For all of the good work through the first three weeks of the month of November, the New York Rangers showed why they are still a rebuilding team on Saturday afternoon. After sleepwalking through a shutout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday, the Rangers showed a bit of their promise before getting overwhelmed.

After Saturday’s contest, the Washington Capitals leapfrogged New York into second place in the Metropolitan Division. The matchup started off well enough for the Rangers with the team jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Jimmy Vesey and Brady Skjei. However, following the two goals, the team surrendered three unanswered and allowed Washington to get its footing.

New York came out strong to start the game and clearly got off to the better start. Yet, as the game developed, Washington began to come in waves which allowed it to make progress. Although the second period was the closest in terms of scoring chances between the two teams, Washington created six of which that were high danger.

This disparity proved to be some of but not the entire difference. It’s an unfortunate reality that even without Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie in the lineup, Washington is still a more talented team than New York.

When the game came down to its defining moment, it was Tom Wilson of the Capitals scored what would prove to be the game-deciding goal.