Recap: Markstrom, Devils Blank Rangers 4-0 in Newark

Well, that happened. About as big as a hockey game in April can get without being a playoff game and the Rangers decided to go about business as usual and fail to show up when everything is on the line. If you didn’t watch and decided to enjoy your Saturday, good on you. If you’re a firm believer in misery loves company, well you came to the right place. Lets get on with it:

1st Period: 

An incredibly important game at hand and how do the Rangers start? You guessed it! 0 shots on goal through the first ten minutes of the game. Generally speaking, it was a pretty slow start overall. The Devils had really the only quality chance through the first half when Stefan Noesen stripped K’Andre Miller of the puck. Sam Carrick had a bone crushing hit on Paul Cotter and Brennan Othmann was playing with some jam but other than that, not a ton of action either way. 

Alexis Lafrenière had the best chance of the period for the Rangers with six and a half to go as he cut to the slot and had a clean shot that Jacob Markstrom was able to get a hold of. That was just the second shot on goal of the period for the Rangers. They would finish the period with one solid push but otherwise, same old story. The Rangers were significantly out-shot 10-4 and didn’t show a ton of evidence that they were especially interested in performing at a playoff quality level of effort. 

2nd Period:

A much better start to the second for the Rangers with Gabe Perreault’s line generating some sustained offense on a lengthy shift. Through the early parts of this contest, it was some of the youngsters that were the most noticeable for the Rangers. Primarily. Brennan Othmann along with Perreault however even Brett Berard had one of the few shots on goal for the Rangers. 

Just about five minutes in, the Rangers were awarded the first power play of the game as Justin Dowling was called for high-sticking K’Andre Miller. The first unit was a disaster through the first minute and gave up a Jesper Bratt breakaway that Shesterkin had to shut down. In the midst of a change, Mika Zibanejad had a couple of chances on a rebound from a K’Andre Miller shot but that was soon cleared which put an end to the advantage. 

With nine minutes to go in the second, the Rangers took their first penalty of the night as Sam Carrick was called for interference.It took the Devils just three seconds to convert on the power play as Timo Meier ripped a one-timer right off the face-off to make it a 1-0 game. 

Shortly after the goal, the Rangers would get a second crack at the power play as Dawson Mercer took down Lafrenière with a trip in the Rangers end of the ice. The Rangers were able to gain some possession on the delayed penalty call which preceded a spirited scrap in front of the Devils net. Mercer was given the original penalty as Trocheck and Meier joined with coincidental roughing calls. Great to see some push from this group but meaningless if you don’t follow it up productively. 

It’s amazing how this deep in such a catastrophic season I still find myself dumbfounded with the decisions or lack thereof that come from this head coach. The power play, which has mainly consisted of the same six skaters, has been beyond inefficient for months. (See statline below) They already came out flat once this afternoon and gave up a shorthanded breakaway so why change anything right? Low and behold, the same five guys take the ice and end up giving up an odd-man rush that results in the Devils second goal. 

Brendan Dillon makes a simple breakout pass to Jesper Bratt, he dishes it over to Nico Hischier who goes right back to him at the doorstep to beat Shesterkin, 2-1 game. Oh, and here’s that statline for the Rangers power play across the last two months. 

That would essentially do it for period two. The Rangers have not had a multi-goal comeback win all season long and were now being tasked with having to come back from a 2-0 deficit to try and keep the dream of playoffs alive. Shots after forty minutes of play were 14-12 in New Jersey’s favor. I wrote in length about how this was the last chance for this team to prove they care and up to this point, it sure wasn’t looking like anyone did. 

3rd Period:

Gabe Perreault had another great chance for his first NHL goal in the first quarter of the final period but aside from that, no noticeable tenacity anywhere to be found. Will Borgen was sent off for hooking about six minutes in to give New Jersey their second power play chance of the night. Thankfully, the Rangers had better luck the second time around and managed to kill off but with half a period remaining, things weren’t looking good. It certainly didn’t help that they were still passing up Grade-A shot opportunities. 

Frankly, watching this third period felt like watching the Titanic sink and it was just a matter of waiting for the violins to start playing. Other than Perreault’s chance, Sam Carrick had the only attempt with purpose as he ripped a 92 mile-per-hour slap shot on a 1-on-1 in the middle of the period. With about five minutes to go, the violins began as Timo Meier picked up his second of the night on a wrap-around following a scramble in front. 

I don’t even know why they bothered pulling Shesterkin for the extra attacker but they did. And Nico Hischier soon found the back of the net to seal the deal 4-0. What else is there to say? This team didn’t care to show up, hasn’t cared all season long and got embarrassed by the Devils for the third time this season. 

The Rangers are back at it Monday but the season is pretty much over. Even if by some miracle they make it they won’t get anywhere. They’re not good enough and frankly, don’t care enough. That’s been proven once and for all this afternoon.