Despite the Pittsburgh Penguins not having leading scorer Sidney Crosby in addition to Evgeni Malkin missing in action, the New York Rangers still couldn't manage to pull out the win.
The Friday, Feb. 7th matchup could have marked a three game winning streak for the Rangers. This was not the case. A badly played second period in which the Blueshirts gave up all three of the Penguins' goals haunted Madison Square Garden. Though, Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox did keep the Rangers in the game with one goal a piece.
A clearly frustrated New York Rangers' head coach Peter Laviolette said everything in very little words throughout his postgame press conference, which is said to have lasted less than 40 seconds
"That's unacceptable," Laviolette said. "It was [a lack of intensity]."
Let's breakdown exactly how the Rangers got their latest loss with three key takeaways from the matchup.
1. Avoidable Mistakes
Pittsburgh was on the power play at three different points on the MSG ice compared to the Rangers' two. Additionally, both power plays for the Rangers were during the third period. The Penguins were also able to tie the game thanks to a turnover from Matt Rempe.
Blake Lizotte. Tie game 1-1
— Joseph (@HockeyJoseph10) February 8, 2025
Matt Rempe turns it over to Erik Karlsson, gives it to Noel Acciari racing in, backward pass to Lizotte and beats Shesterkin far side#LetsGoPens: 1#NYR: 1 pic.twitter.com/VLfJHFgyiZ
If the Rangers want to earn a wild cart spot in the playoffs, Friday's game featuring a plethora of avoidable mistakes was certainly not a way to go about it.
2. Adam Fox serves as a highlight
Although it was teammate Trocheck who earned the Rangers' Star of the Game, Fox's goal tallied in the second period puts him on a three-game point streak. Over the past five days Fox has posted one assist against the Las Vegas Golden Knights, another assist versus Boston and now a goal over Pittsburgh.
FOXY WIRES IT IN. pic.twitter.com/ZeJMC4zQpp
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 8, 2025
3. A Dark Spot in NHL History
Per National Hockey League Stats, this game was historic. It was historic in that it was the first time this decade in which a team won a one-goal game despite posting this zero shots in the third period.
The last time this happened was a 2019 Minnesota win against then-Jacob Trouba's Winnipeg Jets.