New York Rangers: Three thoughts after three games
We are almost two weeks into the 2019-20 NHL regular season and it feels like the year hasn’t really got going for the New York Rangers yet.
While the likes of the Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets and the Dallas Stars have already played seven games, the New York Rangers are only three games into their season and they don’t play their fourth until Thursday.
It has been a disjointed start to the year and I think it is safe to assume that nobody still quite understands why the NHL scheduled the early season slate the way they did for the Blueshirts.
Anyway, that is in the past now and starting with Thursday’s game at the New Jersey Devils we will have a flurry of games to look forward to.
But, in the meantime, it feels right to assess the first three games of the year which have been a mixed bag to say the least.
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Starting with the pulsating opening night thriller against the Winnipeg Jets, which ended in a crazy 6-4 win for the Rangers, it was a more complete effort during the first road trip of the year as Mika Zibanejad led the way with a four-goal night at former team the Ottawa Senators.
It was then back to training camp – well, that’s what it felt like – as the Blueshirts were dealt a ridiculous week off – and whether that was a factor in their first loss of the year against the Edmonton Oilers can’t really be determined.
What we do know is that things didn’t click as well as they had done in the first two games, particularly the offense, and not even a vintage display from Henrik Lundqvist could inspire his team to a third straight victory.
In truth, the Edmonton Oilers look like they could be playoff contenders this year and they were just simply the better team at Madison Square Garden.
However you dress it up, though, the Rangers’ biggest flaws were exposed and there is plenty of work to do in what should be considered a developmental year still, despite the talent that was accumulated during the off-season.
So, without further ado, with three games in the books we thought it would be a good opportunity to present three thoughts we have on the New York Rangers in 2019-20 so far…