The Rangers continue to sleep their way through the schedule, falling 3-1 to the Kings. New York's loss was their fourth in five games and eighth in 11 contests and came on a night where Ottawa, Montreal and Detroit all lost, creating an opportunity that the team tossed in the trash. The Kings clamped down on the neutral zone and for the most part, the Blueshirts were either unwilling or unable to gain the offensive zone. New York faces San Jose on Friday.
Game recap
Lines against Los Angeles:
Lafreniere-Miller-Brodzinski
Panarin-Trocheck-Othmann
Kreider-Zibanejad-Cuylle
Berard-Parsinnen-Rempe
A few thoughts:
1) The Rangers got off to another slow start, ending the first period tied at zero solely because of the play of Igor Shesterkin. New York has been held to six shots or fewer in four of their last six first periods, including only two on Tuesday. That stat doesn't even tell the full story, because the Blueshirts were not even able to gain the zone with any level of consistency. The scoring chances were 14-1 Kings in the first period as the ice was tilted while the Blueshirts' offense was just offensive.
2) Special teams - if 5x5 is not working well enough to string together wins, then you have to win through special teams. This was the recipe for wins last season. All that prior success dried up this year, especially recently.
The Rangers went 0-for-3 last night. New York's first two attempts were especially embarrassing as they produced zero shots while also not even gaining the zone to allow a proper set up. Down 2-1 in the third, the Rangers earned three shots and four HD scoring chances on their third and final try, but Darcy Kuemper made a few clutch saves to keep them off the board. That was the one time they generated ay semblance of a consistent attack.
The end result is that it's now seven straight games where New York has failed to notch power-play goal while going a combined 0-for-13 in that span. The slump dates back even further than that, with New York 4 for its last 47 overall in the last 20 games. Those numbers are damning, especially given the supposed talent on this team. Compound that by allowing two power play goals lat night and you have the worst case scenario. A man-advantage that can't score and a struggling penalty kill.
3) Top players not producing. We have been railing at the big boys coming up small for large stretches of the season. This time of year is where you need the top names to raise their game. Instead, it's been the inverse.
Vince Mercogliano summarized just how bad it was yesterday below. But, despite the info below, coach Peter Laviolette still ran out the same players 6-on-5. Maybe he is afraid of the scrutiny if he went in a different direction in that situation rather than staying trite. Here is a stat that he should consider, which is shocking: "the Rangers have failed to score a goal 6-on-5 this season." The magical comebacks we got used to in the past and expected has not even made an appearance this season. A damning stat on so many levels.
Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad both failed to record a shot on goal or make much of an impact at any strength Tuesday, while Alexis Lafrenière and Adam Fox each posted only one.
JT Miller, Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin had three apiece, but only Miller converted his into a goal. Panarin has now gone without a point in two straight games after collecting at least one in the previous 11
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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