New York Rangers: Good game, bad loss 3-1 to the St. Louis Blues

The New York Rangers came back impressively from their lost weekend against the Flyers, but it wasn’t enough as they dropped a 3-1 heartbreaker to the St. Louis Blues.

Time could be running out for the New York Rangers as they played a disciplined, structured game, but lost on a bad goal in the third period.  For most of the game the Rangers stayed even with the defending Stanley Cup Champions and matched them play for play and an empty net goal made it a 3-1 final.

If you wanted a playoff atmosphere and level of play, you got it tonight at Madison Square Garden.  To their credit, the Rangers held the Blues to only 22 shots and for two and a half periods, the only goals were one power play goal for each team.

The Blueshirts had more shot attempts, more shots on goal and more high danger scoring chances, but in the end, it was a Brayden Schenn wraparound shot that he just put on net that bounced off Alexandar Georgiev‘s leg and into the net.

For the third straight game, the Rangers lost an opportunity to gain ground on their playoff rivals, an opportunity that hurts even more with the Islanders dropping a 6-2 decision to Montreal. They remain four points behind Columbus with only one game in hand and are one point behind Carolina in two additional games.

When it comes to the fight for a playoff spot, it’s getting to the point where the Rangers cannot afford to lose, a tough predicament with the Washington Capitals coming to town on Thursday.

The Rangers can be proud of their effort in this game, but effort isn’t worth that much when the result is a loss. The St. Louis Blues demonstrated why they are the champions, scoring the key goal they needed despite being outplayed.

Notes on the game

• This was the 6,500th game played by the New York Rangers. It was their 2,692nd loss compared to 2,854 wins and 954 ties or overtime losses.
• Artemi Panarin‘s 13 game point scoring streak ended with this game.  It was only the 14th time in 66 games that he has been held without a point.
• With the loss, the Blues swept the season series, the first time that they have done that since 2013-14.
• Although the Rangers were called for only one penalty, the Blues were able to score on that lone power play.  They have given up five power play goals their last nine times shorthanded.
• Kaapo Kakko has scored only two goals in his last 45 games.  He had several opportunities and was stoned by Binnington on one attempt, but the Rangers need him to break out big time before it gets too late.
• This was the first game in a month in which the opposition didn’t get as many as ten shots in any period. In the 12 games prior, they had allowed over ten shots in all three periods in seven games. They really tightened up their defense in this game.
• Bryaden Schenn’s game winning goal was the fifth straight game he has scored in.
• This was Alexandar Georgiev’s first career regulation loss to St. Louis.  It was a shame that the game winner was a soft goal considering how well he played.
• Although the Rangers had three power plays to the Blues one, there were several calls there were not made that could have resulted in Ranger power plays.  David Quinn wouldn’t get into it specifically except to say “when that team is allowed to do some of the things they do, and they compete their asses off,  so I’m to taking anything away from them….and I loved how we fought through it, kept playing through it…on to Washington.”
• One non-call in particular was a slash on Brendan Smith on a third period rush into the Blues’ zone.  It was a wicked slash to his hands and made Strome’s second period slashing penalty look like a love tap.
• The Rangers should be proud of the way they played. Quinn put it best. “That was a big boy hockey game right there. There wasn’t a lot of room out there, there was a playoff feel to it, and unfortunately a bounce ends up in the back of our net which was the difference in the game.”  He continued “A game of that magnitude where there was such little room, not many scoring chances and the margin for error is so small, unfortunately, we were on the wrong end of it.”

My three stars of the game

1. In a game when the defense shined, it was Tony DeAngelo who led the way.  He played a tough, physical game and drove the offense.  He played 22:25, second most of any defenseman and had four shots.  DeAngelo gets knocked for his defense, but in this game, he held his own defensively while still leading the offense.
2. The anchor of the defense was Jacob Trouba who played an unheralded game, but was on the ice for every important shift.  This was the kind of game that Trouba was brought to New York to play and he came through.
3. Brendan Smith takes a lot of heat, but this was his best game on defense in a couple years.  Not only was he solid on defense, but he also contributed to the offense, leading two rushes into the Blues zone that were nearly goals.

The official three stars

1. Jaden Schwartz
2. Jordan Binnington
3. Colton Parayko

What’s next

From the frying pan into the fire.  The Washington Capitals are the Rangers’ next rival, coming to Madison Square Garden on Thursday.  It’s a must win for the Blueshirts.  They cannot continue to count on their playoff rivals to keep losing.