New York Rangers Daily: Reboot after brutal loss; Sabres not ‘too keen’ on trading Dylan Cozens
If you thought the days of the New York Rangers coughing up points in the Eastern Conference playoff race to inferior opponents are done, well, think again.
In an ugly reminder of earlier losses to the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues — to name a few — the Rangers were outplayed badly by the seemingly outmanned Pittsburgh Penguins and lost 3-2 on home ice Friday night.
No Sidney Crosby? No Evgeni Malkin? No problem for the Penguins, who worked for every opportunity they got, every inch of the ice. First to pucks, pushing the pace, simply the better team Friday. Had they had more talent on the ice, they surely would’ve had more than three goals.
But three was enough against the Rangers, who had a pair of quick-strike goals from Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox, but almost no sustained zone time in the first two periods. Sure, they awoke in the third and dominated the final 20 minutes, seeking a third straight comeback win. But though they held the Penguins without a shot in the third period and owned the puck, the Rangers managed only seven shots on goal in that stretch, not one of them ending up in the back of the net.
If ever a favored team deserved to lose, it was the Rangers on Friday.
What a wasted opportunity, when all but one team ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings were idle. The Rangers could’ve — should’ve — picked up ground on each one. Instead, it’s another day off the schedule and they remain 12th in the conference, five points out of the second wild card.
No time to wallow in this infuriating loss. The Rangers are right back at it in a must-win type scenario Saturday when they visit the Blue Jackets in Columbus, the final game before the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-off.
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New York Rangers news
Here are three Rangers takeaways from that brutal loss Friday, including relying on another third-period comeback that just didn’t happen.
With Urho Vaakanainen still ill, Zac Jones remained in the Rangers lineup Friday after a solid return in the 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Sidney Crosby has an upper-body injury and missed his first game in three seasons for the Penguins, who are now one point behind the Rangers in the East, though New York has two games in hand.
Here’s a breakdown of why Trent Frederic would be nice fit for the Rangers ahead of the March 7 trade deadline and why it likely won’t happen.
NHL news
Trade rumors are swirling around Dylan Cozens but Frank Seravalli reports that the Buffalo Sabres aren’t “too keen” on moving the 23-year-old, who’s having a disappointing season.
One of the nuggets in Elliotte Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts was that the Vegas Golden Knights were pretty pissed when Marcus Pettersson was traded to the Vancouver Canucks by the Pittsburgh Penguins because the defenseman was a serious trade target of theirs.
In a minor deal, the Vancouver Canucks traded defenseman Mark Friedman to the Nashville Predators for future considerations.
J.T. Compher is expected to be back in the Detroit Red Wings lineup Saturday afternoon for a tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The forward’s been out since Jan. 25 with an unspecified injury after taking a hit to the head.
The only team ahead of the Rangers in the East that played Friday was the Islanders, and they lost 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets, remaining one point ahead of the Rangers. The Jets won their eighth straight game.
Watch Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers score this beauty, his second of the game, to become the first player to reach 40 goals this season.
Despite another big night by Draisaitl, the Oilers lost 5-4 to the Colorado Avalanche.
Kevin Fiala scored for the third consecutive game and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Dallas Stars 5-4 in a shootout.
The Stars played without yet another injured defenseman Friday. Ilya Lyubushkin is day to day with an upper-body injury and is not expected to play Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.
Ryan Donato had two goals and two assists to lead the Chicago Blackhawks past the Nashville Predators 6-2.
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