Winner, losers from Rangers 3-1 loss to Kings, including Igor Shesterkin, special teams play
Overall, it was a better showing by the New York Rangers on Tuesday. But their 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings was a wasted opportunity to pick up points in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
Despite hanging with, perhaps, the hottest team in the NHL — the Kings have won nine of 10 — the Rangers came away with nothing to show for it. Moral victories mean zero with 10 games remaining on the Rangers schedule.
“From the second period on, I thought we were doing a really good job playing that game and we walk away with nothing,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “Its disappointing, its frustrating. You can’t take anything from that, so its tough”
That said, let’s check out the winners and losers from the Rangers latest loss.
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from 3-1 loss to Kings, including Brennan Othmann promotion
Winner – Igor Shesterkin – Rangers
Making his season-high eighth straight start, Igor Shesterkin was excellent again in goal for the Rangers, certainly giving them a chance when they were dominated in the first period. Shesterkin made 30 saves and held the Rangers in it with a slew of clutch stops when this was a one-goal game late in the second period and throughout the third before the Kings scored into an empty net. The 29-year-old goalie didn’t allow an even-strength goal, beaten twice on open power-play looks.
Loser – Special teams – Rangers
The Rangers were 0-for-3 on the power play and are now in a 1-for-28 funk since March 3. Their penalty kill wasn’t much better Tuesday. The Rangers allowed the Kings to score twice on the power play in the second period, turning a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 deficit they never crawled out from. The Kings, by the way, had scored more than one power-play goal in a game once this season — back on Oct. 14 against the Ottawa Senators. Digest that for a bit when considering the Rangers woeful special teams play.
Loser – Fourth line – Rangers
After a string of good games with limited ice time down the stretch, the Rangers fourth line was manhandled by the Kings bottom six. Matt Rempe, Juuso Parssinen and Nicolas Aube-Kubel (in his Rangers debut) were out-chanced 10-1 in 4:49 TOI at 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick. They provided zero energy, failed to get in on the forecheck, weren’t physical enough and were stapled to the bench for all but one shift in the third period. New York’s bottom six badly missed Sam Carrick, who’s back home for the birth of his baby boy.
Winner – Darcy Kuemper – Kings
Darcy Kuemper continued his outstanding play this season with another strong showing. Yes, he benefits greatly by a terrific team defensive structure and commitment in front of him. But when called on, Kuemper came up big against the Rangers. He only faced two shots in the first period, but stopped 13 of 14 shots in the second when the Rangers controlled more of the play. He absolutely robbed Vincent Trocheck with a diving stop during a Rangers power play early in the third period to keep it 2-1, and finished with 22 saves.
Loser – Strong starts – Rangers
True, the Rangers did score first in this game, a J.T. Miller goal at 2:10 of the second period. But that doesn’t mean the Rangers started quickly at all. New York had two shots in the first period, was out-attempted 24-7 by the Kings and out-chanced 14-1 in the opening 20 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. Shesterkin kept it scoreless until the Rangers got untracked in the second period. This is a brutal trend for the Rangers, whose starts last week against the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks were pathetic.
Winner – Braden Schneider – Rangers
You know who typically rises above the muck with the Rangers? Braden Schneider. The 23-year-old defenseman was active at both ends of the rink and logged 18:35 TOI, including over four minutes short-handed. Yes, it was his man, Kevin Fiala, who scored a tap-in goal to tie the game 1-1 in the second period, but that was a fairly brilliant power-play pass by Andrei Kuzmenko, too. Schneider started the Rangers’ lone scoring play by driving a low shot on net through traffic, picking up his second assist in as many games. Quick to hop into the rush, Schneider, who has two goals in the past nine games, recorded six shot attempts, tops among Rangers defensemen, and three shots on goal.
Loser – Mika Zibanejad – Rangers
You know who looks lost again? Mika Zibanejad. The veteran Rangers forward is now without a point in five straight games after a rejuvenated six-week run. He didn’t have a shot on goal Tuesday and only managed two attempts in 18:45 TOI. He and linemates Chris Kreider and Will Cuylle combined for two shots on goal in over 10 minutes TOI 5v5.
Winner – New York Islanders
First the Montreal Canadiens, the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, lost on Tuesday. Then the Detroit Red Wings, still somehow alive in this playoff chase despite a freefall down the stretch, lost again. Then the Rangers lost for the fourth time in five games. Each defeat benefitted the Islanders, who are tied with the Rangers for ninth in the conference, one point behind the Canadiens, one ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and two in front of the Red Wings. Each of those teams has two games in hand on the Rangers, except for Detroit which has played one less game than New York.
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