Story by
Rangers unlucky, not good enough in 3-0 loss to last-place Canucks: Takeaways
- Story by
- Rangers unlucky, not good enough in 3-0 loss to last-place Canucks: Takeaways
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Given the chance to bounce right back after losing on home ice the night before, the New York Rangers instead couldn't manage a single goal against the last-place Vancouver Canucks , losing 3-0 Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
It was New York's seventh shutout defeat already this season, and sixth at The Garden, where the Rangers lost for the 13th time in 17 games (4-10-3). This latest one followed a 4-1 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
Advertisement
The Rangers (16-15-4) have one win in their past six games overall (1-3-2), and own the third worst points percentage in the tight Eastern Conference .
It was a familiar script Tuesday. The Rangers were by most metrics the better team, but couldn't find a way to score a goal. Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko stopped all 23 shots for his 10th career shutout and first this season.
The Rangers had their fair share of bad luck, too. The first goal they allowed came after an on-ice official accidentally picked off a Rangers defenseman, setting up a clear lane for Evander Kane to open the scoring. And the extremely reliable Jonathan Quick , who stopped 14 of 16 shots in this one, badly misplayed a routine shot on Vancouver 's second goal scored by Liam Ohgren .
The Canucks cashed in on a huge break less than two minutes into the game to open the scoring. Linesman Devin Berg inadvertently got in the way of Matthew Robertson , when the defenseman closed on Kane near the right-wing boards in the Rangers zone. The accidental pick freed Kane to skate in all alone, and he beat Quick with a nifty finish for his sixth goal of the season at 1:46.
Neither team did much at 5-on-5 the rest of the first, but the Rangers perked up on the power play in the latter stages of the period. The Canucks took three minor penalties in a span of 7 minutes, 42 seconds, beginning at 10:03, and the Rangers built some momentum on the final two of those power plays. But Demko stopped all four power-play shots by the Rangers, including a huge save at 18:20 on Vincent Trocheck's point-blank opportunity between the circles.
Advertisement
The Canucks killed off each of their penalties, even though the Rangers were credited with five high-danger scoring chances on the power play in the opening period, per Natural Stat Trick . As such, the visitors carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, despite managing only three shots on goal.
Ohgren made it 2-0 at 3:24 of the second period, when his innocent looking shot off the rush on right wing somehow eluded Quick. The shot hit Quick's right pad and slowly rolled over the goal line after kissing the inside of the far post. It was Ohgren's first goal of the season, and first with the Canucks after the 21-year-old joined them last week as part of the blockbuster Quinn Hughes trade with the Minnesota Wild .
It was definitely one that Quick wanted back. And it seemed to deflate the listless Rangers and their fans even more. But Quick got everyone back into it at 9:16, when he made a sensational diving glove save to rob Kiefer Sherwood 's wide-open rebound try.
Advertisement
The Rangers stormed back the other way, and spent the better part of the next two minutes pinning the Canucks in their end of the ice. Demko bailed out his exhausted teammates, notably robbing J.T. Miller, his former Vancouver teammate.
Demko was at it again later in the period, stoning Artemi Panarin's point-blank one-timer in the slot, off a pretty set-up by Alexis Lafreniere at 15:42.
New York's next best chance to break through came at 12:03 of the third period, when Will Borgen's shot hit the post. Then at 15:12, the Rangers headed to the power play when Marco Rossi was whistled for a hooking minor. Coach Mike Sullivan doubled down by pulling Quick with 1:10 remaining on the power play to create a 6-on-4 advantage.
However, Demko made two clutch saves, before Conor Garland sent the puck from his own end into the vacated Rangers net for a short-handed goal at 16:52 to bury the home team again. It also sealed Vancouver's second straight win, only the second time this season it won consecutive games.
Advertisement
After a day off Wednesday, the Rangers schedule picks up again with three games in four days, beginning with a road contest at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Key takeaways after Rangers shut out 3-0 at home by Canucks
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Lack of scoring 'concerning' for Rangers
Yet again, Sullivan faced postgame questions about the Rangers inability to finish. They've been shut out in 20 percent of their games this season (seven of 35), quite often after generating numerous prime scoring chances. Against the Canucks, they were credited with a 31-14 advantage in scoring chances, but were outscored 3-0.
"Is it a little concerning at this point? Yeah," Sullivan asked and answered after the game.
Advertisement
Mika Zibanejad agreed with his coach that the Rangers did some good things offensively Tuesday, but pointed to an area where they could be better.
"We have to find a way to add on to what we did today and maybe be a little bit more desperate and more resilient in front of their net and force that puck to go in," the veteran alternate captain said. "That's what I see from tonight's game"
The Rangers are 30th in the League , averaging 2.51 goals scored per game. Thirteen times they've scored one goal or fewer.
Speaking of Mika …
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Zibanejad returned to the Rangers lineup after Sullivan scratched him against the Ducks for missing a team meeting. The 32-year-old who lives in Manhattan explained that he got stuck in traffic driving to the team's Westchester facility.
Advertisement
"It's my 10th season (with the Rangers. I know what the (traffic) challenges are and whatnot, but it was an unfortunate situation. I got stuck … I'm just hoping everyone in that accident was fine. But rules are rules and I was late, so there's not much else to say, honestly," he told reporters postgame .
Though he zipped the puck around pretty effectively as the power-play quarterback, Zibanejad wasn't much of a factor overall Tuesday for the Rangers. He did log 22:15 TOI, second most among Rangers forwards, but managed only one shot on goal with six attempts. Zibanejad won 50 percent of his face-offs (7-for-14).
Scott Morrow non-factor in lineup return
Rookie defenseman Scott Morrow returned to the Rangers lineup after he was a healthy scratch the previous two games. Though he logged 15:18 TOI, Morrow had little if any impact on the game. He had just 20 seconds of opportunity on New York's four power plays, again stuck in limited duty on the second unit.
Advertisement
Sullivan stuck with the five-forward PP1 unit, and when the second unit got some run, it was Vladislav Gavrikov running the point for 1:22. Morrow's specialty is being a slick puck distributor. But Sullivan clearly doesn't trust the 23-year-old.
That five-forward group is now 0-for-21 on the power play since deployed by Sullivan after Adam Fox landed on LTIR seven games ago.
Related Headlines
