3 Rangers takeaways from 3-1 loss to Flyers on Black Friday
Another slow start put the New York Rangers in an early hole leading to their fifth consecutive loss, 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Black Friday at Wells Fargo Center.
The Rangers (12-9-1) gave up two goals just 4:24 into the first period, and were outplayed for the majority of the that frame. Despite a better second and third period, the Rangers were not able to come all the way back. Vincent Trocheck scored the lone goal for the Rangers, his first point in six games.
“Not a good start,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said postgame. “Not really any excuse for that start. We found out we weren’t ready to play. We talked about it in between periods. I thought we were better in the second, had some looks in the third too, but you can’t dig yourself that big of a hole.”
In goal, Igor Shesterkin had a great game after a stretch of shaky play, but it was not enough to break the losing streak for New York. The Rangers were out-shot 35-23 in the contest, and once again were beaten by a slow start and a lack of offense.
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3 takeaways from Rangers 3-1 loss to Flyers
Here are three takeaways from the game Friday.
1. Poor starts continue to be an issue
Once again, the Rangers had an awful start to the game against the Flyers, and it cost them. They gave up the first goal of the game just 3:14 into the first period, and surrendered another just a 1:20 later, putting them in an early 2-0 hole. This has been a recurring theme for the Rangers, as they’ve given up goals in the first period in eight of their past nine games.
“They out-worked us in the first period,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette explained. “[Adam] Fox tries to make a play at the offensive blue line and it gets blocked and it goes back the other way. That’s early in the game and we didn’t answer after that. Right away we’re on our heels a little bit and we didn’t really respond for the rest of the period.”
Not only were they down 2-0, but they were also out-shot 10-0 to start the game. It took 11:11 for the Rangers to get their first shot on goal, and they wrapped up the first period trailing in shots 15-4. If not for Shesterkin, it could have been 4-0 in the first period, or worse, because the Rangers gave up 10 high-danger chances to the Flyers, per Natural Stat Trick. Once again, the Rangers spent the rest of the contest chasing the game after their early deficit, and could not come back. This is an issue that New York needs to clean up desperately.
2. Shesterkin bounces back
Despite the loss, Shesterkin had an incredible outing for the Rangers after a stretch of games when he was not exactly playing up to his standards. He gave them every chance to come back and win, making 32 saves in the contest. These were often saves that came on odd-man rushes and high-danger opportunities. The Rangers were out-chanced 30-15 on Friday, including 16-6 in high-danger opportunities.
If there’s any silver lining in this, it’s that maybe Shesterkin can build on this game going forward. Over his previous five starts prior to this one, he struggled at times, with performances of a .907 save percentage or worse in three of the five games. A .941 save percentage against Philadelphia is exactly what he needed, albeit in another loss.
He’s allowed four or more goals in five of his past 11 starts. Though not all his fault, Shesterkin hadn’t been his most sharp. But he was on point Friday.
3. Will Cuylle continues to shine bright in the darkness
While the Rangers have now lost five straight and struggle to find consistency, one player who has remained consistent in his effort and production is Will Cuylle. With an assist on Trocheck’s goal, Cuylle now has 19 points on the season, second on the Rangers. Even more impressive is that all 19 of his points have come at even strength. He has the second-best even strength points per 60 minutes in the NHL this season, behind only Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin.
Cuylle now has points in six of his past seven games (four goals, four assists). The 22-year-old forward easily is the Rangers best and most consistent player, especially during this five game stretch of losses. So, while the Rangers season is at it’s darkest point, Cuylle continues to shine brightly.
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