This was a game that the New York Rangers should have won. It was a much better game than the effort on Tuesday when they threw 50 mostly ineffective shots at the Devils. For a good chunk of the game, it looked like things were going to go the Rangers’ way, then Lady Luck intervened.
Why did they lose? They blew a two goal lead against a Penguins team that has some gifted scorers, a fact that was clearly evident in the shootout. They let the Pens back into the game when Ryan Lindgren made a truly unfortunate mistake putting the puck in his own net.
David Quinn chalked it up to “the learning curve.” He explained, “We have to understand situational hockey. You’re up 3-1 and lot of good things are happening…we just really didn’t understand the moment. With six minutes to go, we’re still doing things like we’re down 3-1. It came back and bit us.”
Then the Rangers had numerous opportunities to regain the two goal lead in the third period, but they just couldn’t score and the Penguins tied it up. We all knew the Rangers were doomed to lose when Filip Chytil hit the post in overtime. The shootout was not an example of Igor Shesterkin at his finest though the goals that beat him were on great shots.
The good news is that Chytil, Phil Di Giuseppe and Kaapo Kakko are gelling and was the best line. The bad news is the revamped top two lines are not. An optimist will say that the Rangers got a point on the road. A realist will say that they gave up a point they should have had.