Winners, losers from Rangers third straight loss, 4-3 to Maple Leafs
It was a better effort, but the result remained the same Thursday night as the New York Rangers dropped their third straight game, 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden. This brings the Rangers to 2-5-2 in their past nine games during the most important stretch of the season pushing for a playoff spot.
That we’re even mentioning effort with the season hangs in the balance is damning about the Rangers. But it needs to be mentioned that their compete level was much greater, and their play much better, than in a dismal 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
The Rangers, though, continue to fail to get it done when it matters most, including defensive lapses that result in costly goals against. After this latest loss, it seems as though they’re running out of time to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the game Thursday.
Related: 3 takeaways from Rangers loss to Maple Leafs as playoff hopes dim
Winner – Artemi Panarin – Rangers
No matter what this Rangers team does, in the middle of it Artemi Panarin is doing his best to will this team into the playoffs. He’s been playing his best hockey throughout the course of his current point streak, which he extended to 11 games with another goal and an assist on Thursday. He’s got seven goals and seven assists for 14 points over the past 11 games. However, the Rangers have come away victorious in just four of those 11 (4-5-2).
Loser – K’Andre Miller – Rangers
It was a nightmarish performance for K’Andre Miller on Thursday. The defenseman was minus-3 with two penalty minutes in 21:16 TOI. First, Miller fell while pinching in the offensive zone, which led to Toronto’s first goal. Then, he let Bobby McMann get a step on him with just seconds remaining in the period, and the Maple Leafs forward tipped in a shot from the point to put the Toronto ahead 2-1. He also failed to connect on a pass with Adam Fox, which directly led to Toronto’s fourth goal, but we’ll spread the blame on that one. A rough night, to say the least.
Winner – John Tavares – Maple Leafs
John Tavares had a big impact for the Maple Leafs in their win over the Rangers Thursday night. The 34-year-old was all over the score sheet, with two goals and an assist for a plus-3 rating in 19:42 of ice time. He got the scoring started midway through the first by firing a rocket over the shoulder of Igor Shesterkin. He found the back of the net again on a fortunate bounce for Toronto’s third goal in the second period. And that second goal was his 1,100th career point in the NHL.
Loser – Peter Laviolette – Rangers
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette made some lineup tweaks heading into this game by reinserting defenseman Carson Soucy into the lineup and scratching Urho Vaakanainen, which worked out perfectly fine. The issue was within the deployment of the top-4 pairs. One shift it was Fox and Soucy, followed by Miller and Will Borgen. The next it was Miller and Fox, followed by Soucy and Borgen. It seemed to switch multiple times throughout the game, which cannot be easy from a player perspective. Among other issues that the Rangers have had, hearing a select few “Fire Lavi” chants from the MSG Faithful tells you all you need to know about how things are going.
Winner – Anthony Stolarz – Maple Leafs
Anthony Stolarz came in and played a very solid game to backstop a Maple Leafs team that had just played the night before and travelled to New York very late. Though you would never know it from their play, Toronto had to be a tired team. When Stolarz needed to bail them out with a big save, he did just that, finishing with 27. He was especially good for them in the final minutes of the game when the Rangers were really pushing their advantage. Though New York broke through with 33 seconds left to make it 4-3,there were several grade-A chances before that, stopped by Stolarz, which sealed the win for Toronto.
Loser – Fans – Rangers
This is a tough one for the Blueshirt Faithful, as the Rangers dropped another game on home ice. Their last win at home was March 3, a 4-0 shutout over the New York Islanders. Since then, the Rangers lost each of their past five games at Madison Square Garden, each labeled with the “must-win” tag. The Rangers are no under .500 at home (16-17-3) this season. The past two games featured extended stretches of booing from the home crowd, and, as mentioned earlier, even chants to fire the coach. One thing about the passionate fans of New York, they hate watching their team lose. And they’ve done a lot of that recently.
