Rangers falter on road trip when competition gets stiffer
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin reacts after giving up a goal to the Flames during the third period of an NHL game Saturday in Calgary, Alberta. Credit: The Canadian Press via AP/Jeff McIntosh
The Rangers’ road trip through the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada fizzled out at the end with a 6-0 loss in Calgary on Saturday night, which came after disappointing overtime losses in Edmonton and Vancouver that included blown leads in both games.
In the big picture, the Rangers went a respectable 1-1-2 on the trip, earning four of a possible eight points. And their 6-3-3 overall record is not bad, either. It’s good enough to have them in second place in the Metropolitan Division.
But the way the trip ended raises a question: Was their fade in the last three games just about running out of gas at the end of their second road trip of the season? Or did it have more to do with the last two opponents, Edmonton and Calgary, being upper-echelon teams that the Rangers might not be ready to hang with?
The trip opened with a 3-1 win over the expansion Seattle Kraken, a game in which the Rangers were outplayed and managed to steal the win because goalie Igor Shesterkin was spectacular.
In the second game, against Vancouver, the Rangers held a 2-0 lead before former Ranger J.T. Miller scored in the third period and in overtime to lead the struggling Canucks to a 3-2 win.
Then things went off the cliff in back-to-back games in Alberta. Against 8-1 Edmonton on Friday, the Rangers led 4-1 in the second period before the Oilers’ No. 1-ranked power play scored a couple of goals and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl led Edmonton to a 6-5 overtime win.
"That game was ours for the taking,’’ Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow said. "We let a lead slip through our hands. I think that’s on us. Not to take anything away from them, but I think that game was in our hands.’’
In Calgary on Saturday, the 7-1-3 Flames handed the Rangers a shellacking.
"We’ve talked about it,’’ Chris Kreider said after the game. "We haven’t beat anyone of — we haven’t beaten the Edmontons and the Calgarys of the world yet. We gave ourselves a chance the other night against Edmonton [but we] got away from our game. I don’t know if we got bored with doing the simple things.’’
It won’t get any easier Monday night as the Rangers face the Florida Panthers (10-0-1) at Madison Square Garden.
"We need to get better in a hurry,’’ Kreider said. "We need to work on our process. It doesn’t matter what the score is in the game, we need to play the same way. We need to trust each other and trust the system. And we can’t get away from that, regardless of the situation and the context. Over 82 [games], you’ve got to lean on your system, lean on each other and continue to do the little things over and over.’’
There may be an additional problem to overcome. Third-line center Filip Chytil, who had a goal and an assist Friday in Edmonton, left Saturday’s game after one shift after a collision with teammate Sammy Blais. After the game, coach Gerard Gallant didn’t have an update on Chytil’s condition.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
