New York Rangers Daily: Blueshirts must atone for abysmal loss; Islanders getting healthy on defense
So much for the New York Rangers’ favorable schedule coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
The Rangers were wiped out by the Buffalo Sabres, who reside in the basement of the Eastern Conference, 8-2 on Saturday. They fell behind 5-0 in the first period, and a shell-shocked Igor Shesterkin was watching from the bench before 19 minutes elapsed on the game clock.
It was a non-competitive performance filled with horrendous mistakes defensively. It was a complete embarrassment for a team that’s had its fair share of those this season.
But it could’ve been worse in the Eastern Conference standings. The Ottawa Senators lost in regulation and the Detroit Red Wings lost in overtime, so the Rangers dropped a point further back in the race for the second wild card, now four points behind. The Columbus Blue Jackets won, so they’re also four up on the Rangers, who have a game in hand.
But how many of this abysmal performances can the Rangers put forth and still remain in contention? And really, do you have any faith in this group making a deep run even if the Rangers do find their way into the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
Those who participated in the 4 Nations Face-Off produced for the Rangers after they fell behind 5-0. Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad scored. J.T. Miller had two assists, Adam Fox had one and Vincent Trocheck had five hits. Urho Vaakanainen — not great at the 4 Nations for Finland — was minus-4 and had an egregious turnover on the game’s first goal.
There’s a lot to say and really nothing to say about this one. The Rangers should be embarrassed. Let’s see if they can rebound against the second-worst team in the East on Sunday, when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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New York Rangers news
Peter Laviolette’s postgame media session lasted 90 seconds, long enough to let it be known how disgusted he was with the Rangers performance Saturday.
Here are three things to watch for when the Rangers visit the Penguins on Sunday, including an obvious need to start games better.
K’Andre Miller is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this offseason. Tom Castro details how the Rangers should handle negotiations with the polarizing defenseman.
Urho Vaakkanainen had a miserable turnover that led to the first goal by the Sabres on Saturday and finished minus-4. But the Rangers defenseman said the day before that participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off should prepare him for the stretch run and possible Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
NHL news
P.K. Subban said on ABC on Saturday that the Penguins are “poorly constructed” and “set up to fail” no matter how great a player Sidney Crosby is or coach Mike Sullivan is.
The Penguins were smoked 8-3 by the Washington Capitals, though Crosby scored his 610th goal, tying him with Bobby Hull for 18th all-time in NHL history.
The Islanders banged up defense got several does of good news. Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield were activated from IR, and Noah Dobson practiced fully Saturday. Pulock and Mayfield could play Sunday against the Dallas Stars; Dobson must miss one more game on LTIR and should be back then against the Rangers on Tuesday.
Elliotte Friedman reported on Sportsnet that teams have looked into acquiring both Schenn brothers and reuniting them in separate deals with the St. Louis Blues (Brayden) and Nashville Predators (Luke).
The rumor mill has the Boston Bruins looking to trade forward Morgan Geekie, who, in turn, stated that he wants to stay with the Bruins.
The Bruins picked up a point but lost to the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime.
The Winnipeg Jets signed former Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year, $6 million contract.
The Jets then went out and won their ninth straight game, setting a franchise record with a 4-3 victory over the Blues in a shootout.
Brady Tkachuk missed the Ottawa Senators’ fourth straight loss, 5-2 to the Montreal Canadiens, with a lower-body injury. Coach Travis Green said he hoped Tkachuk can play Wednesday against the Jets.
Speaking of Tkachuk brothers missing games with a lower-body injury, Matthew Tkachuk was out for the Florida Panthers, when they lost 2-1 to the Seattle Kraken.
The New Jersey Devils lost to the Stars 4-2 and coach Sheldon Keefe broke up his young defense tandem of Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec because of poor play.
Kent Johnson scored twice to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Columbus is tied with the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card spot in the East.
The Detroit Red Wings blew a late lead and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild, though they picked up a point and are now in the first wild card in the East.
Watch Barrett Hayton score his first NHL hat trick in the Utah Hockey Club’s 5-3 road loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
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