Rangers Fall Flat In Loss To Ottawa

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Following two strong performances against Tampa Bay and Nashville, the Rangers faced a weak Senators team that they should be able to beat. Unfortunately, the Rangers didn’t answer the bell and the Senators left MSG with a 6-2 win.

Kaapo Kakko – The biggest bright spot, and maybe the only one tonight, was the play of the 18-year-old Finn. Kakko recorded a goal and an assist in this one, marking the first multi-point game of his young career.

After some extended zone time, the puck came to Adam Fox, who fired a hard pass to Kakko. The second overall pick was able to corral the pass and made a nifty move to his backhand to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first period.

The more Kakko plays, the more he will adjust to and feel comfortable in the NHL. It may only be a month into the season, but it’s clear to see why Kakko was so highly thought of leading up to the 2019 draft.

Artemiy Panarin – The Russian sniper got his sixth goal of the campaign in this one, bringing the Rangers as close as they would get. With the Blueshirts on the man-advantage, the aforementioned Kakko made a pass across the ”royal road” to Panarin, who beat Nilsson on the short side.

Panarin’s goal was his 12th point of the season, giving him a point in as many games. Panarin has been a point-per-game player throughout his young career, and so far, he has played to the back of his hockey card.

Foot Comes Off The Gas – After two great performances against difficult opponents in Nashville and Tampa Bay, the Rangers were facing an opponent that, on paper, is not as good as they are. And following Kakko’s goal, you could see Ottawa slowly get their legs going and get back into the game. By the end of the opening 20 minutes, it was the Rangers on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline. In the second period, Ottawa scored three unanswered before Panarin got the Rangers within three

As DQ and Chris Kreider mentioned in their postgame comments, maybe the Blueshirts thought this game wouldn’t require as much effort as the previous two contests. And for this young team, they just learned the hard way that there are no easy nights in the NHL.

Fight Night At MSG – One way the Senators were able to make things difficult on the Rangers was by making the contest very chippy. There were two fights in the first period and, throughout the game, we saw scrums after the whistle. Again, this was the type of game these young Blueshirts aren’t used to playing, so they’ll have to learn how to win when the game takes a physical edge to it.

Alexandar Georgiev – It was a night to forget for the Rangers goaltender, who gave up a season-high six goals against in the loss. Ottawa scored three goals with the Rangers shorthanded, and they were able to crash the crease and find rebounds all night. His teammates didn’t help him out much, but Georgiev will probably tell you he could’ve prevented one or two of the goals against in this one.

Next Game: The Rangers will try and bounce back on Wednesday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings. Puck drops at 8!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

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