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Deja vu all over again as Rangers lose 3-0 to the Islanders

By Steve Paulus

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Semyon Varlamov #40 of the New York Islanders defends the net against Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers during the second period at the Nassau Coliseum on May 01, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Rangers 3-0 and with the victory, the Islanders clinched a playoff berth to the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Semyon Varlamov #40 of the New York Islanders defends the net against Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers during the second period at the Nassau Coliseum on May 01, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Rangers 3-0 and with the victory, the Islanders clinched a playoff berth to the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Leo Komarov #47 of the New York Islanders holds on to Julien Gauthier #12 of the New York Rangers during the third period (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Leo Komarov #47 of the New York Islanders holds on to Julien Gauthier #12 of the New York Rangers during the third period (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Lessons learned

So, did the Rangers learn anything from Thursday night’s devastating loss?  The team did a better job in the Islanders’ zone, actually getting possession time.  Whenever the Rangers were able to keep the puck in the Islanders’ zone and cycle the puck, it felt like a triumph though inevitably they would give the puck away or take a shot that was either blocked or intercepted.

The Rangers improved immensely on faceoffs, winning almost half of the draws.  The centers got support from their teammates and that helped them win more.

The Islander didn’t take as many liberties in the Rangers’ zone and didn’t get as many glorious scoring opportunities.

For those reasons alone it felt like an improvement.

Lessons not learned

What did they not learn?  There was a lot. The coaching staff didn’t come up with a way to free Artemi Panarin from the blanket coverage whenever he touched the puck. Panarin was held shotless in the two games and finished with a plus/minus rating of -4.  It’s hard to blame Panarin for a lack of production when covered that way, but the team didn’t come up with any type of strategy to deal with that.   You can be assured that when the Rangers are a playoff team, opposing coaches will watch videos of these games.

Hit somebody!  While the forecheck was a tad better than Thursday, the lack of physical play was noticeable.  The coaching staff should make the entire Rangers team watch videos of the Islanders.   The Rangers have no one who can match the physicality of the Islanders’ fourth line.

The Rangers still have a nasty habit of turning the puck over at the blue line and then get caught up ice.  That’s how Mathew Barzal scored his breakaway goal.  East-west passes don’t work against the Islanders and they Rangers make them far too often.

Net front presence was lacking again. Whether it was a matter of missing Chris Kreider or not, the Rangers still didn’t do a good job getting in Varlamov’s face.

The power play was completely ineffective yet again and the coaching staff did nothing to shake i up. It was pass-pass-pass yet again and that doesn’t work against the Isles.

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