A look back at the Rangers horrible road trip

NYR were looking for answers (Mike Stobe/NHLI)

NYR were looking for answers (Mike Stobe/NHLI)

We can look at an 0-2-1 Western Canada road trip and be down on ourselves. We can all justifiably go nuts about the poor play of Dan Girardi on this trip. We can go out of our minds about giving up seven goals to Edmonton. We can also try to take some positives away from Western Canada.

 

Vancouver: For the first 40 minutes on Wednesday night, the Rangers looked like they picked up right where they left off on Sunday night vs. Ottawa. Yes, the ultimately lost the game, but when the referees decide they need to have a say in the final score, you can’t place all the blame on the visitors. We can debate for hours on end (depending on which blog you road) as to who deserves the blame on Daniel Sedin’s winning goal, but nonetheless, one defensive gaffe costs the Rangers two points in Vancouver. This clearly was a game the Rangers should have put away in the first two periods, but too much passing and creativity precluded the Rangers from putting one past Miller and the rest is history.

Edmonton: BURN THE TAPE!!!! Giving us 37 shots on goal to Edmonton is totally unacceptable. The chances of winning a game when you’re “top pairing” is a combined -7 are almost slim to none. If you want to look at any positives from that game, consider the fact that the Rangers came back twice from down to goals. In addition to that, Chris Kreider finally put one in and the top line looked like they got back into form.

Calgary: The most enigmatic game of the trip. The first 36 minutes looked very similar to those in the Vancouver game, except for the fact that J.T. Miller scored before a game clock his 0.00. It took all of a 10 minute span from the end of the 2nd period until the first several minutes of the third when the Rangers Defensemen looked more focused on what they were ordering on their flight home than winning the actual hockey game. Pin one goal on Keith Yandle and goals 2 and 3 on Dan Girardi. Again, the Rangers found a way to claw back only to lose in the video game style overtime. You can question Chris Kreider’s failed attempt to steal the puck, but he made back in time to give Dan Boyle the opportunity to cover T.J. Brodie who ripped a shot past Raanta. Better communication is necessary.

 

All in all, a failed road trip by all standards. However, the Rangers came out Tuesday night angry and avenged Friday night’s loss to Edmonton. Let’s see if they can keep it rolling tonight.

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