Key takeaways after Rangers finally score, lose again at home, 3-1 to Wild
Though they finally scored their first goal on home ice this season, the New York Rangers remain winless at Madison Square Garden after a disappointing 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Monday.
The Rangers (3-4-1) were shut out in their first three home games and are now 0-4-0 at The Garden. They ended their home-ice scoring drought at 180 minutes, 57 seconds when Artemi Panarin hit the back of the net less than a minute into the game Monday.
It was a beauty of a goal, too. Each of the five Rangers skaters on the ice touched the puck at least once before Mika Zibanejad zipped a pass to Panarin, who wired his second goal of the season over Filip Gustavsson’s glove. The assist was Zibanejad’s first this season and his 341st with the Rangers, moving him past Steve Vickers for 10th all-time in franchise history.
A sigh of relief swept through MSG as the Rangers’ goal song blared over the sound system — finally. But it ultimately was replaced by more frustration.
Jonas Brodin scored the tying goal in the first period for the Wild, and 21-year-old rookie Danila Yurov scored his first NHL goal in the third period, which proved to be the game-winner. Kirill Kaprizov scored an empty-net goal, and Gustavsson finished with 23 saves, including a pair from point-blank range to rob Zibanejad twice in the third period.
Yet again, New York’s best player was Igor Shesterkin, who’s allowed two goals or fewer in each of his six starts this season but has a 2-3-1 record. He made 29 saves against the Wild (3-3-1), who ended a three-game skid and won for the first time (1-2-1) on their five-game road trip.
The Rangers’ first lead of the season on home ice lasted less than five minutes before the Wild tied the game. After a face-off win in the offensive zone, the Wild went to work and quickly got the puck to Brodin in the left circle. His shot deflected off the stick of Alexis Lafreniere, and changed speed and direction to slip past Shesterkin at 5:10.
The Wild badly outplayed the Rangers the rest of the period. They outshot the Rangers 17-6, but more telling is that the Wild had 39 shot attempts to 12 for the home team. Scoring chances heavily favored the Wild (20-6), who had a whopping 84.02 percent expected goals share in the first period, per Natural Stat Trick.
Each of New York’s top three lines got pinned in their own end defending against the relentless Wild for shifts that extended past 90 seconds each. First it was Noah Laba and the third line midway through the period, then J.T. Miller’s line, then Zibanejad’s. The latter led to a Will Borgen delay of game penalty when the exhausted Rangers defenseman accidentally sent the puck over the glass and out of play at 15:11.
But the Rangers escaped the first period tied 1-1 — and they got better as the game progressed in the scoreless second period, when each team was credited with 11 shots on goal.
The Rangers came out flying in the third period, earned their first — and only — power play of the game, and recorded the first six shots on goal. But it was the Wild that broke through at 8:16, when Yurov pushed a loose puck over the goal line with Shesterkin on his back after stopping Marcus Johansson’s wraparound.
Kaprizov put this one away with a long-distance empty-net goal, with Shesterkin on the bench for an extra attacker, at 18:24. It was his team-leading fifth goal, and the fourth this season scored into an empty net against the Rangers.
Their next chance to pick up that elusive first win at MSG is Thursday, when the Rangers host the winless San Jose Sharks.
Key takeaways after Rangers remain winless at home, lose 3-1 to Wild
Frustration bubbles over for Rangers stars
Zibanejad had four shots on goal Monday, including a pair of Grade-A chances in the third period that could’ve — should’ve — been difference makers for the Rangers. He has two goals this season, neither at even strength. Yes, he’s frustrated, especially being asked the same questions after pretty much every game, certainly each home game to date.
“What else should I do more? I have to score. Yes, I understand that, but I’m getting the chances. I’d be more worried if we didn’t get any chances,” Zibanejad explained postgame. “It’s frustrating for us. It’s frustrating for me. How many looks did we have? Not just this game; just overall. I honestly don’t know what else to do.”
Miller, who led the Rangers with six shots on goal and has just two goals this season, also shared his frustration.
“I had two tonight that should have been in the back of that for me, like that game should have been 2-1,” the Rangers captain said. “We should have been playing with the lead, and I didn’t bury that. We just got to bear down.”
Bloodied but not broken
The Rangers had a couple injury scares in the second period, but nothing that turned out to be serious. First, Shesterkin appeared to have a slight cut or abrasion near his right eye after Kaprizov’s bad-angle shot from near the left corner struck him in the face mask at 3:20. In fact, part of the mask broke, and Shesterkin switched to his regular mask while the special centennial version was being fixed.
Shesterkin was checked out by the Rangers trainer and finished out another brilliant performance.
Rookie Noah Laba took a puck in the mouth when he blocked a shot during a penalty kill roughly three minutes after Shesterkin was shaken up. The 22-year-old blocked Vinnie Hinostroza’s shot, but the puck rode up his stick and hit him in the face. Bleeding badly, Laba needed help to get off the ice and back to the dressing room.
However, the rookie center returned to the bench with about five minutes to play in the second period, wearing a bubble mask to protect his swollen lips and injured face. Laba didn’t get back on the ice in the second, but did play three shifts — two of which were under 18 seconds apiece — in the third period.
“Yeah, that’s scary. Any time a player gets hit in the face like that, it’s really scary,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the game. “Fortunately, it wasn’t too serious. He got stitched up. The fact that he came back, I think, just speaks to his competitiveness, his toughness. But that was a scary moment, for sure.”
Carson Soucy returns to Rangers lineup
Carson Soucy played 16 shifts and logged 10:20 TOI in his return to the lineup after the veteran defenseman missed four games with an upper-body injury. He partnered with Braden Schneider on the third pair. Matthew Robertson remained on the second pair with Borgen, which was Soucy’s spot before he was hurt.
Soucy had one shot on goal, a drive through traffic that was kicked out by Gustavsson, was credited with two hits, and blocked one shot. He was also on ice, protecting the slot, when Minnesota scored what became the game-winning goal in the third period.
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