Winners, losers from Rangers shutout loss to Devils, including dismal special teams
The New York Rangers weren’t terrible Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center in a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils. But that’s a low bar to climb over. They weren’t good enough, and the result was damaging to their playoff hopes with two weeks remaining in the NHL regular season.
After a slow start, the Rangers had more of the puck and the chances. They out-shot the Devils 26-16 overall (the fewest shots the Rangers surrendered in a game this season) and 22-9 in the final two periods. Yet, they were outscored 4-0 over the final 40 minutes.
Now, the Rangers (36-33-7) are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, with six games left to play. An uphill climb for sure.
Let’s look back at the Rangers-Devils game and break down the winners and losers.
Related: ‘Brain-dead’ Rangers shredded by broadcasters during 4-0 loss to Devils
Loser – Special teams – Rangers
This game was pretty much lost in a span of 1:27 midway through the second period. A scoreless contest became a 2-0 Devils lead when they twice exposed the Rangers on special teams. It took New Jersey all of four seconds to score on its first power play at 10:56, Timo Meier hammering home a slap shot after a Nico Hischier face-off win and quick pass from Luke Hughes. Then the Devils scored a short-handed goal when four Rangers were caught deep, and Jesper Bratt buried a 2-on-1 short-handed feed from Hischier at 12:23. Considering the Rangers haven’t won a single game when trailing by multiple goals this season, this was pretty much ballgame. The Rangers power play is now 2-for-43 since March 3 and been outscored 3-2, allowing three shorties.
Winner – Jacob Markstrom – Devils
The Rangers did have some good scoring chances, right up until the end of this game. They held a 26-16 advantage in scoring chances in all situations, per Natural Stat Trick, and 13-8 in high-danger opportunities. But Jacob Markstrom was the difference. The Devils goalie shut out the Rangers for the second time this season, stopping all 26 shots, including 22 over the final two periods when the Devils actually pulled away. Markstrom is now 12-4-3 all-time against the Rangers with a goals-against average of slightly above two goals per game.
Winners – Star players – Devils
Including Markstrom, the Devils won this game on the backs of their best players. That’s saying something, considering they were missing injured stars Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton. But that was OK in this one because Hischier (three points; one goal, two assists), Meier (two goals) and Bratt (one goal, one assist) came up big. Their best players were their best players.
Loser – Vincent Trocheck – Rangers
It’s not easy to target one Rangers player as a loser in this one, it was a collective fail. But it was a rough afternoon for Vincent Trocheck. One of the best face-off men in the NHL (59.5 percent), Trocheck lost 11 of 13 draws, including the one to Hischier which led directly to Meier scoring the first goal of the game. He also was on ice for Meiere’s second goal that made it 3-0 and Hischier’s empty-netter. Trocheck logged 19:06 TOI but failed to record a shot goal.
Loser – Hudson River rivalry – Rangers
The Devils not only took seven of eight points in the season series against the Rangers with a 3-0-1 record but their three wins were so lopsided that a lot of the luster came off this rivalry — at least for one season. The Devils outscored the Rangers 15-1 in their three wins, including 10-0 in a pair of Prudential Center victories. This comes after the Rangers swept the season series 4-0-0 a year ago, when they won the Presidents’ Trophy and the Devils missed the playoffs. Shoe, meet other foot.
Loser – 3-game winning streak – Rangers
For the eighth time since mid-November, the Rangers failed to win a third straight game. The Rangers haven’t had a three-game winning streak since Nov. 14-19 and are 0-4-4 when trying to win three in a row since. New York entered the game Saturday with two straight wins and a 2-0-1 three-game point streak. That inability to string together a winning streak is a big reason the Rangers are on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.
Winner – Montreal Canadiens
As the Rangers stumbled in Newark, the Montreal Canadiens rallied at home, erasing a 1-0 deficit early in the third period to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. That’s Montreal’s fourth straight win, and it doubled their lead to four points on the Rangers for that final wild card from the East. The Canadiens can push their lead to six points with a win Sunday against the Nashville Predators.
