‘Everything on the table’ for Rangers after embarrassing loss
Needing to defend home ice on Tuesday night, the New York Rangers failed miserably, completely outplayed by the Calgary Flames. The final score of 2-1 does not begin to tell the full story; Calgary dominated New York in every facet of the game, leading to one of the Rangers most dispiriting losses of the season.
With the results of every game massively affecting their playoff chances, coming out flat as they did on Tuesday night is simply unacceptable. After Artemi Panarin scored on the Rangers second shot on goal at 1:13 of the first period, New York mustered only 11 more shots on goal the entire game – finishing with their second least so far this season (13).
Their lull on offense reached a new low in the second period; the Blueshirts “challenged” Flames backup goalie Dan Vladar with only three shots on net.
“Honestly, I don’t know what happened,” Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider said after practice Wednesday. “We were just off our mark, it was a disappointing game for us. It’s obviously a big two points that we missed out on.”
Coach Peter Laviolette was still a bit perplexed by what happened Tuesday a day later.
“You address it as it’s going through the game, you’re trying to address it on the bench, in between periods, it just never really changed,” Laviolette said.
The Flames, in a playoff push of their own, simply wanted it more on Tuesday night, and it showed. Calgary played with high intensity, ultimately outshooting the Rangers 35-13. A brilliant performance by Igor Shesterkin, who had 33 saves, actually gave the disinterested Rangers a chance to win.
New York has no choice but to try and turn the page quickly. While disappointed in their performance, the Rangers can’t get those two points back. All they can do is focus on the next game, a tough matchup Thursday at MSG against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are tied for first in the Atlantic Division.
“Everything was on the table this morning, so now we’re focusing on the next one, which has got to be better. We acknowledge that,” Laviolette explained.
If the Rangers turn in more no-shows over their final 13 games, they can wave goodbye to their playoff hopes. They must wipe the slate clean, and it starts with game against the Maple Leafs.
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Rangers move on after brutal loss: ‘It’s all about how we respond’
Before embarking on a West-Coast road trip next week, New York plays host to two teams also in varying playoff battles of their own: the Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks.
First up is Toronto, a tough turnaround for the Rangers after their embarrassing performance against Calgary on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs have 85 points (41-24-3), and defeated the Rangers at Madison Square Garden less than three weeks ago on Feb. 28. They are tied with the Florida Panthers for first in the Atlantic, and are only two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. So, they’ve got a lot to play for Thursday, too.
“It’s all about how we respond. We want to make sure that we come back with a game that we’re proud of,” said Schneider.
Perhaps the Rangers can use their lackluster performance as momentum going forward; they failed to turn it around during the loss to the Flames, but now had a day to stew on it.
“I think everyone in our room is disappointed, but we can’t sulk on it too long because we got a big one tomorrow,” Schneider stated
Despite that brutal defeat, the Rangers are just one point out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, though the Montreal Canadiens have two games in hand on them. That terrible loss does not have to sink the Rangers’ playoff hopes.
“We gotta lead with more speed and attitude than what we did last night; we weren’t good enough. We addressed those things, and we’re moving on,” Laviolette concluded.
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