After leading by two goals Friday night the New York Rangers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout. The Rangers will be looking to learn from Friday’s disappointment by closing out their game in regulation. The Rangers played a good road game, which should be of little surprise as the team had the fifth best road record last season with a .603% points percentage.
The Rangers held the Penguins to 28 shots on goal and won the possession game with a 51.85% Corsi For percentage. This despite winning only 12 faceoffs and losing 28 for a .30% faceoff winning percentage. Ryan Strome was the worst Ranger at the dot, winning only one faceoff while losing nine. Only Brett Howden finished at least even, but he took only two draws.
The game plan headed into any game is to the not let the opposition’s top players hurt you. The Rangers did a good job at keeping the Penguins’ big guns off the score sheet. With the exception of an Evgeni Malkin secondary assist on the Penguins first tally, their star talent were kept silent. It wasn’t until the shootout where Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang both converted to secure the Penguins the extra point.