Rangers overmatched, Lose to Capitals 5-2
After a disappointing loss against New Jersey, the Rangers were right back at it in Washington to take on the Capitals. Unfortunately, the effort was slightly better but was still not enough as the Rangers fell to the Capitals 5-2. Here is our recap.
Before the game, there were a few changes made to the lineup. Gregg McKegg was scratched and Brendan Lemieux made his return to the lineup. Pavel Buchnevich was placed on left wing on the second line, while Kreider was bumped up to the first line with Zibanejad and Panarin.
There really wasn’t much difference from the game versus New Jersey and tonight against Washington. Even though the Rangers seem a little more engaged than they did the other night, the Capitals were able to dominate possession for most of the game. If the Capitals were lacking, the Rangers could not capitalize on their chances. Players like Brendan Lemieux and Brendan Smith were way more physical along with better games by Panarin and Zibanejad were evident but didn’t scratch much on the final tally.
Goals early by T.J Oshie, Michael Kempny in the first put the Rangers in a hole. Although Pavel Buchnevich netted a power play goal off a beautiful pass from Mika Zibanejad, along with a give and go goal from Artemi Panarin, it wasn’t enough for New York to overcome the deficit. Goals by Nic Dowd and a second goal by T.J Oshie on the Power Play and an empty netter from Garnet Hathaway kept Washington in the lead and for good.
Missed passes, sloppy puck handling, untimely penalties and inconsistent efforts along with poor defensive positioning sunk New York tonight. Eighteen minutes worth of penalties also did not help their case tonight. Although the effort level was better towards the second period and into the third, Washington was able to weather whatever else the Rangers tried to throw on Braden Holtby, who made 26 saves on 28 shots against the Rangers
On a more positive note, Henrik Lundqvist has looked great as always, making 29 saves on 33 shots. Adam Fox and Libor Hajek also had strong performances on the back end and as mentioned before, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad looked phenomenal as always.
Next Game: The Rangers return home to take on the Vancouver Canucks Sunday at 1PM.
LET’S GO RANGERS
More About:NYR Features Blueshirts GameDay