Rangers Vs. Jets: Rangers Get Unlucky (But Also Got What They Deserved)

- If the headline is confusing allow me to elaborate it. The Rangers got very unlucky. Per War-On-Ice the Rangers out-chanced the Jets 24-15 and out shot them 41 to 29. The Rangers dominated this game in almost every way, except for the scoreboard, the power play and the fourth line (more on this in a bit). At even strength the Rangers -- especially the first line -- were monsters. Michael Hutchinson was spectacular (as was Henrik Lundqvist) and without him the Rangers would have probably won this game 12-2.

- But they didn't, and as much as the Rangers were unlucky not to earn the two points, they got exactly what they deserved.

- Kevin Klein is not -- and should have never been asked to be -- a power play quarterback. His willingness to shoot is a great quality on the man advantage but not if he's not finding shooting lanes. A guy like Klein needs someone to get the puck to him after he's moved into space. Ryan McDonagh is not that guy. Derick Brassard (who briefly played the point) is that guy, but with only one defenseman on the unit Klein was leaning towards not making a mistake rather than running the power play. The Rangers went -1-for-5 on the power play. The -1 is because they gave up a shorthanded goal.

- The infuriating aspect about this is you could see it coming. The first power play unit (manned at the helm by Keith Yandle) was fantastic. The puck movement was great, they generated chances, Mats Zuccarello rang one off the pipe and they held the puck for very long stretches. But when the second unit had to come on puck possession was a myth and quality scoring chances were a distant memory. You need someone to man the point who knows what they're doing. Boyle is more than just a guy who can shoot the puck; he directs players into space, has the skills to get the puck there and can make the unit hum. Klein is none of those things. That's not a knock on him, either, it's a rare trait to have.

- But most of the media -- who had no problem hanging Boyle (and Jesper Fast) from the rafters after two games -- didn't seem to notice that lacking Tuesday night. Nor did they seem too worried about the fourth line. Speaking of:

- Tanner Glass was on the ice for six scoring chances against and none for. He was on the ice for 13 shots against and one for. When asked about this after the game (by the fantastic Sean Hartnett) Alain Vigneault responded with: "There's no doubt that they spent a lot of their time on the ice in our end. They need to be better that way." That leads me to believe that line isn't going to change. This isn't about Glass. Seriously. It's actually never been about Glass himself so much as what playing him represents. It's not his fault AV keeps putting him out there. I think I got away from that at times and that's on me. But it's infuriating to watch Emerson Etem and Fast rot on the bench while AV continues to support a veteran who isn't and hasn't gotten the job done. he did the same thing with Brad Richards on the power play. And Martin St. Louis.

- As people on Twitter love to remind me: "Glass isn't the reason the Rangers lost last night." Of course he isn't. But Glass (and the fourth line) was on the ice for three separate shifts while the Rangers were down in the third period; including being on the ice down by one with five minutes left in the game in the offensive zone. That's a bad coaching decision no matter how you slice it. You run your top guns (especially with the way the first line was dominating) in those situations. You shorten your bench. I'm not saying the Rangers would have scored two in the final five minutes but you at least give yourself a shot. With the way the Rangers were holding the puck it wasn't ludicrous to go for it.

- By the way, Glass played more than Oscar Lindberg (who played just over 10 minutes). Glass played three minutes less than J.T. Miller, one minute less than Viktor Stalberg and had more ice time than Jarret Stoll. 1-13 in shots. 0-6 in scoring chances.

- In the same vein Klein and Marc Staal were on the ice with Lundqvist pulled. Staal ended up not being able to beat out and icing and the Jets scored the dagger on that play. Again, I'm not saying you're 100% coming back in that situation. There's an overwhelming reality that you're losing a game down 3-1 with two minutes left. But Yandle and Boyle (well, McDonagh last night) should have been on the ice. Staal and Klein don't help there at all.

- There were positives, though. Dylan McIlrath looked fine in his 12 minutes. I really don't understand why he didn't get more time, though, especially if he was playing for Boyle. Don't give me the lots of penalties thing, either. McIlrath can play on the penalty kill and with all that power play time in the second McIlrath should have been soaking up even strength minutes to give Yandle, Klein and McDonagh a rest. McIlrath did stop a centering pass to a wide open Jet (can't remember who) when the game was still 2-1 in the third. And he got scrappy when the Rangers needed him to.

- Lundqvist was, again, fantastic. But I really do hope people realize that when your goalie has to make THOSE types of saves and do it often that's not good defense. Lundqvist bailing out mistakes isn't a good thing. That will catch up to you (and for the Rangers it did last night) after a while.

- That was Brassard's best game of the year. Rick Nash has been a monster the past two games but has been playoff-level unlucky. Those goals will come for him eventually. I thought Miller had a great game. Didn't notice Chris Kreider much. Liked what I saw from Kevin Hayes but he had a few tough turnovers. Derek Stepan had his moments. Lindberg was great on both ends of the ice.

- The first line, as a group, easily had their best game of the season. They dominated. I know I said this before above, but seriously, look at this:

When Rick Nash was on the ice tonight NYR had 18 shot attempts and gave up 2 (5v5). They out chanced the Jets 13-0. Nash wasnt on for a SCA.

— Martin R. Burns (@mburnshockey) October 14, 2015

Outstanding.

- Can anyone tell me what Girardi was doing on the Jets' power play goal? He screened Lundqvist for two seconds before Bryan Little ripped the puck past Lundqvist -- who admirably took the blame for the goal. Girardi either needs to press the man or get out of Lundqvist's way. Sitting in front of him helps no one. A veteran should know better. Sometimes blocking the shot isn't the best play.

- I'm not sure McDonagh had a great game, either. I didn't love what he did on the shorthanded goal -- although he was put in a tough spot.

Thoughts, guys?