New York Rangers late period lapses do them in against Penguins
There is nothing I can’t stand more than late period goals. To be clear, that’s any goal by the opposition with under two minutes to play. The disdain grows the closer you get to 0.0 seconds on the clock.
Last night the Penguins tied the game with one near the end of the first period (1:06) and scored the game-winner with just 20 seconds on the clock in the second period.
If you think I hate it – I can only imagine how David Quinn and the Rangers feel about it.
Rangers vs Penguins: Late defensive lapses do in Blueshirts
“Goals at the end of the first and second period kind of killed us a little bit,” Ryan Strome said after picking up a power play goal in the third period to cut it to 3-2. “I thought a much better effort than the night before, but unfortunately, when you’re chasing this team and you lose both, it’s frustrating. There’s not much we can take away from this one in terms of feeling good.”
Four or five times, they’ve come from behind to beat us in close ones,” a frustrated Chris Kreider explained. “They cost us enough the other night. So at the end of the day, we have to find a way to get those two points.”
As for the head coach, he saw it as “a tale of two games.” The emphasis was more about only playing a strong 30 minutes instead of a full 60. “We just got to get out of this – we’ve got to get to playing 60 minutes of good hockey.”
Rangers still battling consistency issues
Keith Kinkaid was good but not great in net. Tristan Jarry did however steal it for the Penguins. That included two point blank stops with Pavel Buchnevich on the doorstep in the waning minutes of the game.
The Rangers power play was abysmal and gave up a shorthanded goal. Then in the second half looked totally different and zipped the puck around that led to a Strome goal. These “sporadic” moments of good hockey just won’t cut it in this division.
They simply need to be much better going forward.
Post Game Notes:
- The Rangers were credited with a single-game season-high 58 hits in tonight’s game, including a single-period season-high 23 hits in the first period, and 17 of 18 skaters registered at least one hit in the contest. The Blueshirts’ 58 hits in tonight’s contest were the most the team has registered in one game since the NHL began to consistently track hits in 2005-06.
- Ryan Strome registered a power play goal and recorded three shots on goal. He has tallied five points (three goals, two assists) in the last four games.
- Jack Johnson tallied the first goal of the game, which was his first goal/point as a Ranger.
- Pavel Buchnevich notched a power play assist and registered three shots on goal. He extended his assist/point streak to five games (two goals, five assists over the span).
The Rangers will practice today, 12:00 p.m. at TD Garden in Boston, MA.
Next Game: Thursday, Mar. 11 at Boston (7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG 2)
Notes courtesy NYR
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