New York Rangers lose third straight game in DC to the Washington Capitals

It is now three straight defeats for the New York Rangers. Despite being given the lead twice through Adam Fox goals, the Rangers were unable to maintain their lead over the Capitals, and now present the chance to the Carolina Hurricanes to shut the gap in the division to a single point. It's not been an enjoyable time for the Rangers, and we're starting to see causes for concern,

Will Cuylle took the puck from the right corner and started to circle back towards the blueline in the offensive zone. That is before he fires a dart of a pass over to Adam Fox below the left circle. Fox tries to play a pass to Mika Zibanejad in the slot who would have been able to fire at Charlie Lindgren in the Washington goal, but Nick Jensen deflects the pass back to Fox. However, Lindgren has tries to get over to block the potential Zibanejad blast, so Fox had an open cage to aim for, and his third goal in four games gave the Rangers a very early lead.

Washington would tie the game up later in the first period. As the Rangers were on a powerplay and it started coming to an end, K'Andre Miller's shot was blocked in the high slot and gathered by Connor McMichael. He was able to send Anthony Mantha threw on Jonathan Quick. Mantha got around Quick and was able to roof it on the backhand over the three-time Stanley Cup Champion, and it was a tie game with two minutes left in the first.

Blake Wheeler took the puck from behind the Washington Capitals net and tried to feed Jimmy Vesey out in front, but the pass didn't connect. That got the puck back to the point for Fox, and another wind-up slap shot from the point beat Charlie Lindgren from distance, and the Rangers defenseman was able to double his total in the game and restore the Blueshirts lead. A strong start to the second period for the blueshirts.

Evgeny Kuznetsov was able to tie the game up on his own with a beautiful solo effort. Rushing up the right wing, he wrapped around the net, and was able to fire it towards the net. It was going wide, but Nic Dowd was able to get his stick on it just before it went above the crossbar, and Quick stood no chance. A tied game at two, and a hard-fought game between these two clubs was looking like trouble for the Blueshirts.

Following a zone entry from Dylan Strome, he was able to vollect a loose puck that was knocked down by K'Andre Miller. He fired the puck across the crease to T.J. Oshie, and the Washington Capitals took the lead with a little more than 10 minutes left in the game. It was now going to be a question of the Rangers finding another goal to get the game back equal.

Washington would shut the door and keep the Rangers at arms length for the remainder of the game, and the Rangers have now had three straight losses afflicted upon them. It's not time to panic yet, but this is not good enough for the lofty standards that the organization set for itself with the long winning streak early in the year. It's not been good enough as of late, and the Blueshirts need to figure it out.