Isles beat Rangers 2-0 and this one hurt
By Steve Paulus
The New York Rangers lost to the Islanders 2-0 behind the outstanding goaltending of Semyon Varlamov. He shut the Blueshirts out for the second time this season and they have now gone six periods without a goal against him. This was a disappointing loss, considering that the game was scoreless with nine minutes left in the game. The Islanders scored two late goals in a span of 2:05 and the Rangers were unable to overcome the lead that late in the game.
The Rangers needed to take advantage when they had chances and when they were unable to do it against a disciplined team like the Islanders, that was fatal. They had the only two power plays in the first two periods and couldn’t score and then they had consecutive breakaways by Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad early in the third period that were stopped.
There was a lot to like about the Rangers effort. They kept the Islanders from getting any solid scoring opportunities for most of the game and they played the Islanders evenly for 50 minutes, but that wasn’t enough. One of the keys to winning was getting ahead, but they couldn’t do it and it cost them.
David Quinn was not happy with the effort saying “I don’t think we played fast enough offensively. We really allowed them to stay in their structure..” About the Islanders he said “I thought they defended well, they stayed inside their structure well, we just didn’t get inside enough. ”
That was noticeable as there was lack of a hard forecheck most of the game except for the fourth line. The Rangers were able to penetrate the offensive zone, but couldn’t do much when they got there.
If there is a problem brewing, it is with the power play. They didn’t score on three man advantages and are now two for their last 23. Possession of the puck inside the offensive zone is not the problem, they are just not finishing. Quinn talked about the power play. “Obviously you want to score on the power play, you also want to gain some momentum off of it. I don’t think we got much going on our power play.”
That begs the question, why no changes? All season long, Quinn has not hesitated to tinker with the forward lines if he thinks they are not working. Yet, the power play is clearly in trouble and he keeps sending the same five guys out there. To compound the problem, the second unit usually gets on the ice with 30-40 seconds left and they always seem rushed, trying to do something in what time is left.
If the power play continues to shoot blanks, it’s going to be a long month.
After the game Chris Kreider lamented the team’s inability to put together a full 60 minute outing and not have that two minute lapse. No one asked him about the inability of the power play to put together a two minute man advantage and score.
In a close game like this one, it’s inevitable that the first goal would be a “dirty” one and that’s exactly what happened. The defensive mistakes that allowed the second goal were also predictable.
This was the case of a well coached, veteran team playing their kind of game and taking advantage of opportunities. It was also the case of a goalie coming up big and stealing a win. It has to be chalked up as a learning experience and a lost opportunity.