Rangers lose 2-1 to Canucks on a late goal

The New York Rangers played their best game of the road trip, but it was a lost cause as Vancouver scored with less than two minutes left in the game and won 2-1.

It was a rare display of disciplined hockey by the New York Rangers.  They forechecked diligently, played with discipline in their own end and dominated in the third period, but once again, it was a lost faceoff that killed them. With 1:29 left in the 1-1 game, they took an icing,  Bo Horvat beat Mika Zibanehad cleanly on the draw, the Canucks circled in the zone and  Tyler Myers took a snap shot that fluttered past a screened Alexandar Georgiev.

There was a lot to like about the Rangers this game.  They looked like a different team than the only that played pond hockey in Edmonton a week ago. If they continue to play like this they will win games. For the second game in a row, the kid line of Filip Chytil, Brett Howden and Kaapo Kakko played very well   Pavel Buchnevich played a hardnosed game and scored the Blueshirts’ only goal.

But there were also warning signs.   The biggest issue is that this was the second game in a row that both Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad were held scoreless, both losses.  In fact, this was the seventh game that both players were held scoreless in the same game and they have lost them all.

After two solid games in the faceoff circle, the teams were almost even after one period with the Canucks up 10-9. Over the last two periods, Vancouver won 32 faceoffs and the Rangers won 13.  That’s awful.  To make matters worse, after Filip Chytil was tossed from the faceoff circle, Greg McKegg took over and was tossed as well and that’s an automatic penalty.   Faceoffs are kiling this team.

So the Rangers end the first half of the season on a losing note.  They have a 19-18-4 record and are heading towards an 84 point season.  That won’t be enough for a playoff spot so it looks like another second half of trade speculation and experimentation.