New York Rangers downed by Connor Hellebuyck and Jets 4-1
The New York Rangers wrapped up their first road trip of the season with a 4-1 loss against the Winnipeg Jets. Despite outshooting their opponent 41 to 33, the Blueshirts couldn’t beat star goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
Jacob Trouba had his 600th career game spoiled by the team that drafted him 9th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft.
“It got away from us tonight,” Trouba said. “We’re not going to play perfectly every game. We’ll learn from it and address it going forward.”
Recap: Jets 4 vs Rangers 1
1st Period
The Blueshirts definitely did not have the jump they did in their previous two games, but in fairness this was their third contest in four nights with travel.
One player that appeared fresh was Jaroslav Halak and he needed to be just that. Winnipeg fed off their home crowd as they came in waves on the Rangers defense. Eventually the Jets would break through at the 10:29 mark. Mark Scheifele using his excellent shot got one by Halak, who stopped 12 of 13 Jets shots in the period.
The Rangers did have a few offensive chances, including an Artemi Panarin breakaway that Connor Hellebuyck turned aside with a blocker.
“They came out hard and played well,” Lafrenière said during the intermission on MSGSN. “It’s two quick games on the road so we have to be sharp and try to push all the way.”
2nd Period
It may have taken 20 minutes for their skating legs to arrive from Minnesota but they did get there in time for the second stanza.
The Blueshirts barrage totaled an incredible 21 shots only to be thwarted by Hellebuyck again and again.
Even when he made a mistake, it seemed like fortune was on his side. Trying to make a play behind his own net, a carom off his skate saw the puck come out in front to a vacant net. Unfortunately, Mika Zibanejad’s diving attempt was a tad bit late and the Jets remained up by one through 40 minutes.
“I think we could’ve done a better job around the net,” Zibanejad lamented. “I think the second and third chances we could’ve done something better there.”
Late in the period, Rangers center Ryan Carpenter was attempting to steal a puck when he and the Jets defender fell. On the way down, Carpenter’s face landed on a skate causing a deep laceration. He left for the locker-room bleeding badly and would not return to the game.
“He’s doing okay– I haven’t heard anything,” Gerard Gallant updated. “Day-to-day.”
3rd Period
The New York Rangers did some line shuffling and it paid off when Dryden Hunt converted a gorgeous cross-crease feed from Vincent Trocheck. The gritty winger, who was on the fourth line earlier, used his skate to stop the puck and then roofed it over Hellebuyck’s glove. Artemi Panarin picked up the other assist for a three game point scoring streak.
However, as the period wore on the Rangers started to lose steam and couldn’t keep up with the Jets speedy forecheck.
Sam Gagner would score the eventual game-winner with 4:25 remaining by crashing the crease and finding his own rebound. Winnipeg would ice the game on a power play tally by Scheifele with Jacob Trouba in the box for a delay of game.
Kyle Connor added an empty-net goal to complete the scoring for the evening.
At the end of the day, the story was Hellebuyck as he finished with 40 saves.
“We were not great in the first, played great in the second and ran out of gas in the third,” Gallant said. “I was disappointed with our defensive game.”
Notable Rangers
- Jaroslav Halak stopped 30 of 33
- Dryden Hunt scored his first goal of the season
- Artemi Panarin now has 6 points in 3 games (1G – 5A)
Tomorrow (Saturday, October 15): Day Off
Next Game: Monday, October 17 vs. Anaheim Ducks (7:00 PM ET – TV: MSG Network)
*Schedule subject to change
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