The Rangers lost their second game in as many days on Monday to their rivals, the New Jersey Devils.
It's no secret that the Blueshirts power play has been struggling in recent months, but there were still some bright spots for the club heading into Monday's showdown. The Rangers boasted the most successful penalty kill in the NHL prior to the game, but one wouldn't know it watching the Devils score goal after goal on the man advantage.
After New York took a penalty for too many men on the ice in the second period, the Devils went to work. Timo Meier was left wide open in the slot and fired home a pass from Dawson Mercer to give the Devils a 2-0 lead over the Rangers.
Timo Meier hit the Cole Palmer celly 🥶 pic.twitter.com/FjjmRp2zgI
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 23, 2024
It would be unrealistic to expect the Rangers to never concede goals on the penalty kill. They are playing at a disadvantage, after all, and goals against are bound to happen. One goal on the penalty kill is not grounds for panic. The Rangers, however, allowed three power play goals Monday afternoon. Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer would tack on power play goals of their own in the eventual Devils win.
The poor performance of the penalty kill may have been easier to look past if the Rangers power play hadn't been so ineffectual and downright depressing. It's well known that the Blueshirts have struggled to produce offensively as of late, but the Rangers were given every opportunity to score on Monday afternoon.
Overall, the Rangers would have four power plays in the contest. Rangers fans who last season grew accustomed to watching a deadly power play from New York, are right to be frustrated and disappointed with the current state of the Rangers man advantage.
Since Dec. 6, the Rangers are 2-for-26 on the power play. That's a 7.7 percent success rate, which is third-worst in the league during that span.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) December 23, 2024
NY is down to 19th in the league on the PP. It's a dramatic dropoff from having one of the league's best over the past few years.
It's not just that the power play has gone quiet, but that the scorer of the second most power play goals in franchise history was a healthy scratch for the game on Monday. Chris Kreider has cemented himself as a staple of the Rangers power play, scoring 110 goals for the club on the man advantage across his career. On Monday afternoon, however, the veteran forward was a healthy scratch. It's obviously unclear whether Kreider would've scored or contributed to a Rangers goal on the power play, but it would be hard for the unit to have performed worse.
The Rangers managed just 12 shots on goal for the entire game despite having four power play opportunities. Combine this with the fact that goaltender Jonathan Quick was hung out to dry and the Rangers penalty kill was asleep at the wheel, and the Blueshirts performance looks to be mighty embarrassing for the club.