Recap: Berard Nets First NHL Goal in Rangers 4th Consecutive Loss

Well, it was a slightly better showing from the Rangers in the grand scheme of things but there is no room for moral victories of any kind at this point. The New York Rangers have lost their fourth game in a row and have yet to give Chris Drury a reason to lay off the panic button. A tough night for Shesterkin, another night where the stars were MIA, all three goals came from players who have a combined 204 career games played with Brodzinski holding 170 of those. At some point, something has to give but unfortunately, tonight was not that night. 

1st Period:

It was all Carolina through the first quarter of the period. They had an early chance right out the gate as Igor Shesterkin fumbled the puck after making a save that gave him a bit of trouble. From that point on, the play was almost always in the Rangers end of the ice as a result of the same recurring issues we’ve witnessed across the past few weeks. It became a bigger problem five minutes in as Marty Necas found Jack Drury down low who fired a shot over the shoulder of Shesterkin just under the crossbar to make it a 1-0 game early. 

Carolina would get the first power play of the night a few minutes later as Zac Jones was called for one the weakest hooking penalties I’ve seen in quite some time. As if the Rangers weren’t having enough trouble keeping the puck out of their own end, they now had a two minute disadvantage to fight off but thankfully, were able to do so successfully. 

With under nine minutes to go, Reilly Smith had a chance at a partial breakaway but was held up by Jack Drury who was called for slashing. With Carolina on the penalty kill and the Rangers on a six game power play drought, this was as good an opportunity as any for the Rangers to get back on track. While they wouldn’t score, the man advantage did help break up the starting pace of this game which got the Rangers a little more involved offensively. 

As the period went on, the Rangers continued to look better and better. With two and a half minutes to go in the period, Jimmy Vesey found Jonny Brodzinski in the slot who ripped a shot up high to beat Spencer Martin, tying the game up 1-1. 

A late penalty from Will Cuylle for holding sent the Hurricanes back to the power play but with only 45 seconds to go, the Rangers were able to hold them off to keep the score even heading into the first intermission. A good bounce back after a tough start to the game as the Rangers were locked at one with Carolina after the opening twenty of the game. Shots were also tied at 13 apiece despite the Rangers falling behind in the count early. Rangers had the lead in both the high danger count as well as expected goals for. 

2nd Period:

With just over a minute of time left on the penalty to Cuylle, the Rangers kept Carolina out of harm's way until the last literal second of the man advantage. Another great pass from Necas found Seth Jarvis cutting towards the net who was able to fire the puck home to regain the lead now 2-1. A really good play from the Hurricanes and another tough break for the Rangers as the goal really took the wind out of their sails through the first half of the middle period.

Right at the midway point of the evening, the Rangers had a great chance with an odd-man rush as Brett Berard had Mika Zibanejad on a 2-on-1 break. So often on odd-man rushes like these, especially when they involved ZIbanjead, the Rangers end up trying too hard to force a pass. Berard, who has been great since his call up earlier in the week, made the right decision. A perfectly executed wrist shot sailed right past Martin making for quite a memorable first NHL goal for the former fifth round draft pick in 2020. 

 The bad news is that while this was happening, Kaapo Kakko who limped to the bench on the shift prior after blocking a shot, headed to the Rangers locker room and needed great assistance in doing so. A brutal blow both for the team as well as Kakko personally who has been off to an outstanding start this season. 

On the bright side, the Rangers had a burst of energy following the excitement of Brett Berard’s first career goal and pretty much dominated play through the next five minutes. That unfortunately came to a halt as K’Andre Miller was called for tripping up Jackson Blake who ended up sailing right into Shesterkin, knocking him over in the process. Good news, Kakko was back on the Rangers bench following the TV-timeout. 

The Rangers were successful again in killing off the penalty which helped build some momentum that explored in the minutes of the period. Another potential odd-man rush came to fruition as a result of a fantastic effort from Reilly Smith to whack the puck over to Adam Edström who was cutting towards the net. A quick shot from Edström found the back of the net to regain the Rangers lead now 3-2. 

A massive goal to close out the second as the Rangers took the one goal lead to the second intermission. Shots on goal were now 22-18 in favor of Carolina who led in scoring chances by the same count. The Rangers still had the edge in high danger chances and had some more momentum going with them into the third. They just needed it to be enough to take care of business through another key period of hockey. 

3rd Period:

After a spirited start to the third, the Rangers headed back to the power play just three and a half minutes in as Vincent Trocheck took a stick up high from Will Carrier. Once again, the Rangers power play units couldn’t get much of anything going as Carolina did a good job of killing off the man advantage, picking up a couple of shorthanded scoring chances in the process. The Rangers followed up the power play with some even strength looks that included a shot off the post from Jacob Trouba. 

With just over ten minutes to go in the third, Jesperi Kotkaniemi beat K’Andre Miller behind the net and snuck a wrap-around attempt through Shesterkin to tie the game up 3-3. Definitely a goal Shesterkin will wish he could’ve had back as it was a bit of an awkward play on his end with the puck going off his skate and in. 

Not long after, the Rangers were back at a disadvantage as Trocheck was called for tripping Seth Jarvis in front of the Rangers net. Definitely an inopportune time for a penalty but another soft call that probably didn’t need to be a penalty to begin with. Regardless, it would cost the Rangers as Jackson Blake was left all alone in the slot to find the back of the net, 4-3 Carolina. 

The Rangers had come back several times in this game so far but time was becoming a concerning factor. With under two and a half to go, they pulled Shesterkin for the extra attacker after several minutes of not being able to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Again, the Rangers couldn’t maintain consistent pressure, the Hurricanes kept clearing the puck and time eventually ran out as the Rangers have now tied their worst losing streak of last season. 

There won’t be much time to reflect on this one as the Rangers have a crucial back-to-back stretch of matinee games Friday and Saturday. It’s getting to the point of desperation in regards to securing a win and if this team continues to fail to do so, drastic measures may need to take place. They’re back at it in Philadelphia Friday Afternoon at 1pm. Until then... A happy Thanksgiving and holiday season to all!