This one hurt as Rangers drop shootout loss to Red Wings

For the second straight game, the New York Rangers came from behind to tie a game in the third period.  After a thrilling overtime, the game went to a shootout, but there were no Blueshirts heroics this night.  In fact, in the shootout, Ryan Strome had the win on his stick and inexplicably missed a wide open net.

This will not go into the record books as a good effort by the Rangers.  They were outplayed for long periods by an energetic Red Wings team.  They certainly has their chances, but they hit two posts and Detroit goalie Thomas Greiss played like an all star in stopping 37 of 39 shots.

For the second straight game, the power play was kept off the ice until late in the third period.  It saved them as they were able to tie the score with less than nine minutes left.

It was a letdown from the Boston game.  As tightly defended as that game was, this one was sloppy for both teams.  Numerous neutral zone turnovers resulted in odd man rushes for Detroit.

Coach Gerard Gallant was not pleased.  “The first half we came out real flat obviously and Detroit took it too us pretty good.  It should have been more than 1-0 but Shesty played real good.” Gallant continued, “The second half we played good enough to get back in.  We probably got the one point that we deserved, but no more.”

The good news is the Blueshirts have allowed only 10 goals in their last five games.  The problem is that they have scored only 13 with just eight at even strength.

It’s games like this that will convince Chris Drury that he needs to improve secondary scoring.  They’ve got the defense, but look at these numbers.  In the 23 games since December 8 here’s the scoring for the players currently on the bottom six:  Chytil 3, Reaves 2, Gauthier 2, McKegg 1, Rooney 0, Hunt 0.   In the same 23 games, Chris Kreider by himself scored 16 goals compared to eight for this sextet.

After the game, Adam Fox was more resigned to the result and happy to get the one point. “You always want to come away with two points, but one point is better than none…it was just one of those games.”

The team still looks hung over from their two week vacation. It’s worth noting that the Red Wings played four times while the Rangers were off. The Rangers have been guilty of slow starts all season and they need to fix that.  As Fox said, it’s difficult to play from behind and although the Rangers are second in the NHL in games won after trailing first with 12, they have allowed the opposition to score first in 25 games.  Consider that they are 19-3-2 when scoring first.

Notes on the game

With the shootout loss, the Rangers improved to 67 points and  a record of 31-13-5.  The Penguins lost to Toronto so the Rangers picked up a point of Pittsburgh with 70 points. The Rangers have two games in hand on the Pens and are very close in points percentage (.686 to .684).

The Rangers have still lost only four times in regulation this season at Madison Square Garden, second only to Florida in the East.

The Blueshirts record against the Atlantic Division is 13-2-1, getting 27 of a possible 32 points.  Pretty good.

The Rangers power play is fourth in the NHL with a 26.2% success rate, one tenth of a point behind the mighty Edmonton Oilers power play.

The Rangers have had only two power plays in their last two games, the second time that has happened this season.  They need to work on drawing penalties.

The Rangers were outhit 15-13 and the 13 hits was the fewest for the team in any game this season.

Mika Zibanejad’s power play goal was his 11th of the season. He is fifth in the NHL with Chris Kreider still leading with 17.

Chris Kreider has lost his lead in the goal scoring race. Leon Draisaitl scored his 34th goal of the season to go ahead by one goal.

Adam Fox notched his career high 48th point, assisting on Zibanejad’s goal. He is fourth in the NHL in assists with 41, eight behind Jonathan Huberdeau.  Fox is now third among defensemen in scoring, one behind Cale Makar and two points behind Victor Hedman.

Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves on 33 shots. He improved his league best save percentage to .938 and moved into the league lead with a 2.05 goals against average.

The  Rangers played a video tribute to Marc Staal halfway through the first period.  He received a standing ovation from the crowd, something the television audience didn’t see, of course.

Thomas Greiss has never lost to the Rangers with a lifetime record of 6-0-1.

This was the Rangers first loss to Detroit since March 2019.

My 3 Rangers stars

1. Artemi Panarin played like a man possessed.  He led the team with six shots on goal and had the most shot attempts.  This was a game where he wasn’t helped by his linemates and he tried to take it in his own hands.  He did assist on Zibanejad’s goal, but got no luck or help in scoring.
2. Igor Shesterkin made some really special saves and had no chance on the two Red Wings goals. He stopped 31 of 33 shots and but for Ryan Strome, should have won his second straight shootout.
3. Adam Fox was off his game early, but picked it up and was outstanding as the Rangers tried to get back into the game.  He made a headman pass off the backboards to spring Chris Kreider and he also drew the penalty that resulted in the Rangers’ tying goal.  In the shootout, a role he not comfortable with, he lost control of the puck and couldn’t get a shot off.

The official 3 stars

1. Thomas Greiss – Detroit
2. Pius Suter – Detroit
3. Igor Shesterkin – Rangers

What’s next

The Rangers take a quick trip to Canada to play the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.  It’s a late afternoon start with puck drop at 5pm.  It won’t be an easy game as Ottawa has a lot in common with the Red Wings.  The Blueshirts will have three days to prepare for their game with Washington next Thursday in their first game in New York against Tom Wilson and company.  Then, they meet the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time next Saturday, a game that every Ranger fan should be looking forward to.