Rangers show life offensively, play with right ‘intentions’ despite latest loss
The New York Rangers’ 4-3 loss Wednesday did not look much like their recent defeats.
They scored three times and peppered Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll with 43 shots, their most in a game this season, just two nights after they almost tied a franchise record for fewest single-game shots.
Still, the loss, their sixth in a row (0-5-1) and 18th one-goal defeat of the season, officially eliminated the Rangers from Stanley Cup Playoff contention
Coach believes Rangers ‘deserved better fate’
The Rangers are able to generate offense more easily away from Madison Square Garden this season, and that trend continued in Toronto on Wednesday.
The Rangers struck for at least three goals for their seventh straight road game and had more shots on goal than their previous two games combined (39) at home. Despite their recent shooting bender, which helped them put together a 6-5-2 mark since the Olympic break in their previous 13 games, the Rangers averaged just 22.8 shots on goal per game in that span.
“I told the team, if we play like that, with those intentions [and] that type of intensity, we’re going to win games,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the game. “I thought we deserved a better fate tonight. It didn’t happen, but I thought we played a pretty good game.”
Yet, it still wasn’t enough to overcome Woll, who earned the game’s First Star honor, or their own goalie Igor Shesterkin, who had an uncharacteristically tough night. Shesterkin stopped just 14 of 18 shots and got beat clean on stoppable shots on three of the four goals against that came on rush chances.
“They were opportunistic on some of the [chances] they got they scored on,” Sullivan said. “The types of goals they got were a result of us either not managing the puck in the right areas.
“When you look at the goals they scored, we were chasing the game a little bit, and that makes it hard because you don’t have any sort of structure.”
Rangers get ‘goalied’ in Toronto, similar to early-season frustrations
Wednesday was just the eighth time the Rangers outshot an opponent by 10+ shots on goal this season, and they are 5-3-0 in such games. Their last loss in such a situation came Jan. 8 in the a 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, when Colten Ellis (30 saves) outdueled Jonathan Quick.
Their 43-18 shot margin on Wednesday marked the first time the Rangers outshot an opponent in eight games, and they owned the shot-attempt battle too (64-34). Mika Zibanejad, who scored twice, set a single-game career high for shots (10) and equaled the team total from the Rangers’ 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday. Will Cuylle also established a career high with seven shots on goal.
“It was definitely the opposite of last game,” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said. “I thought we outplayed them pretty much for the entire game. We shot the puck a lot more, had a more direct mentality [and] skated more. We played a good game.”
So, watching the Rangers get beat by a goalie is rare, usually it is Shesterkin who is flummoxing opponents. New York has the third-worst shots-for percentage (46.2%) in the NHL.
Still, it has happened this year, especially at home, since the Rangers are 31st in the League in home shooting percentage (8.7%), only ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, and been shut out six times at The Garden.
Of course, the regular season started with three shutouts in their first three home games and the Rangers scored just one goal in their first four games at MSG. New York was outshot in two of those four games.
But it all led to the Rangers being outscored again and guaranteed a second straight season outside of the playoffs.
“Nobody’s thrilled where we’re at,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to do what we can to try and instill a certain standard that we can build on moving forward.”
