Rangers drop final game of the West Coast Trip 3-2 in Anaheim

This was the complete opposite of last night’s game in Los Angeles. With the Rangers taking the lead in the first period, this game followed a lot of the same script but the other way around. After the Rangers scored first, the Ducks tied the game soon after and stormed out to a 3-1 lead, and despite the Rangers scoring again to make it a one-goal game, there was just no way back for the Blueshirts late in this one.

Jaroslav Halak is still winless as a member of the New York Rangers. He’s off to an 0-4-1 start for his new hockey club. He’s not the reason the Blueshirts have dropped all the games he’s played in but he hasn’t been particularly special during his tenure in the Big Apple. With the questions looming over the head of Rangers continuing to move forward, there’s not a ton to like about this performance.

For New York, consistency continues to be the enemy of the roster. Despite playing well in bursts, this never felt like a game that the Rangers had the ability to dictate. That is likely due to fatigue during the second half of this back-to-back but it was a fine performance at times. I’ll get to the biggest factor the Blueshirts came up empty tonight, but the Ducks were able to create havoc for the Rangers at times.

Now… John Gibson. That is a goaltender that just stole a win for his hockey club. Anaheim should have blown out and they may have been with any lesser shot-stopper playing for the roster. If the American did anymore between the pipes for the Ducks, he would have been a candidate to quarterback the Ducks’ powerplay. He was stopping anything the Rangers’ offense could muster and despite being limited in its strength, they tested him.

Over Thanksgiving, the Rangers will still sit in a playoff spot. They are the first wild card which is not the best position to be in, but you’d rather be on the inside looking behind you than on the outside looking in. They will be a team that is getting chased during the next 60 games of the year. This hasn’t been a great start by the Rangers, but it’s fine for where they want to be at the end of the year.

With the road trip concluding in a 2-1-1 run, the Rangers will return home for a Saturday Matinee with the Edmonton Oilers as they continue their season after the Thanksgiving break back home in the best city in the world. Things could have gone a lot better during this trip, but this is an acceptable set of results for this stretch of games.