Recap: Rangers Fall Short Again, Lose 2-1 in Winnipeg

Game one of a three game road trip, the Rangers paid their first and only visit to the Winnipeg Jets this season as they looked to bounce back from a truly awful weekend. As Sam said in the broadcast towards the end of the third period, the Rangers played well but not well enough. Despite some close calls towards the end, they fell short and continue to fall by the wayside in the race for a wildcard position in the Eastern Conference.

1st Period: 

After a slow start filled with icings and other whistles, Alexis Lafrenière had a great chance to snap his goal scoring drought just as Sam and Joe were talking about him needing to find his game again. A shot from Carson Soucy at the point hit the post and the rebound came right out in Lafrenière’s direction but not clean enough for him to bury the rebound. 

The Rangers were already beginning to struggle defensively and sure enough, about six minutes in a beautiful rush from Cole Perfetti weaved through four Rangers and found former friend Vlad Namestnikov all alone in front of a wide open net to make it a 1-0 game. It actually went off of Namestnikov’s stick before or after deflecting off of Sam Carrick. Just an incredibly ugly goal to give up.

Nearing the midway point, Igor Shesterkin looked as if he said “you guys aren’t going to shoot the puck? Fine, I will” as he sent a beautiful saucer pass across the ice. It ended up being the perfect outlet pass to Brennan Othmann who had Matt Rempe on an odd-man rush but opted for the shot. The rebound came out in Rempe’s direction but again, not clean enough for him to convert. That line did go right to work for another fantastic shift as they continue to be one of the lone bright spots on this team. 

Just after the ten minute mark, the Rangers got the first power play of the night as Nino Niederreiter was called for roughing. Not sure if you could really consider that much of an advantage at this point seeing as the Rangers are 1-21 for their last 22 power play attempts. Nevertheless, the Rangers began to move the puck as they normally do and just as I was criticizing J.T. Miller for passing up an opportunity to shoot the puck, it ended up on the stick of Mika Zibanejad who fired a wrister shot straight to the back of the net, tying the game up 1-1. 

Winnipeg continued to control most of the play that followed but with about four minutes to go, Chris Kreider had a great chance to give his team the lead as Sam Carrick chipped a puck ahead for him on a quick breakaway. As the play went the other way, J.T. Miller was called for hooking which gave Winnipeg their first power play of the night. 

Naturally, the Rangers somehow ended up with the best scoring chance while shorthanded but again, it resulted in another mind boggling decision with the puck. On a 2-on-0, Mika Zibanejad came down the left wing side and threw a backhander in Trocheck’s direction. Which is all well and good if the pass was on the ice but it wasn’t, it was floating at midsection level as Trocheck attempted to bat at it. Are you as shocked as I am that it didn't result in a goal? 

The Rangers were successful in killing off the remainder of the penalty and kept the score tied at one through the first twenty minutes. All things considered, not a bad outcome against the top team in the West but still some brutal looks defensively. Shots were 12-9 in Winnipeg's favor but the Rangers did lead in expected goals for and were tied with the Jets in high danger chances. A noteworthy stat to be mindful of:

2nd Period:

After another relatively slow start to the period, Matt Rempe won a clean offensive zone face-off after Jonny Brodzinski was kicked out of it. As Rempe was going towards the net, he was shoved right into Connor Hellebuyck by Morgan Barron but all the officials saw was #73 colliding with a goaltender, therefore the Rangers were penalized. Just an absolutely ridiculous call for the officials to make. 

Meanwhile, as the Rangers were killing off the penalty, J.T. Miller and Nikolai Ehlers had an exchange that resulted in Miller being called for interference and Ehlers for slashing in retaliation. Miller was in some serious pain afterwards but both skaters would head to the penalty box. The Jets ended up converting on the power play as Gabe Vilardi found the puck unbothered right at the top of the crease to regain the lead now 2-1. 

As play went on, Brandon Tanev ended up skating right into Igor Shesterkin as he tried taking the puck to the net. K’Andre Miller was quick to go after him which drew a spirited crowd but the only penalty would be to Tanev for ACTUAL goaltender interference. Back to the power play, the Rangers top unit continued to move the puck but that’s about all they did. Shesterkin’s reaction to Tanev colliding with him is exactly my reaction watching this power play go 2-for-23 in this recent stretch. 

Right around the midway mark, J.T. Miller took a stupid cross-checking penalty in the defensive zone as he was slotting in for Brodzinski on the fourth line following a shift from the second power play unit. I’m all for the fire that Miller plays with but read the room, not the time to be careless like that. 

Just as the team’s returned to even strength, Zibanejad passed it back to Braden Schneider who hit the post with the shot. Shortly after, the Jets went the other way and Adam Lowry had what felt like the 10th breakaway of the night on Shesterkin. Thankfully, it was kept out as Igor was having a strong night in net. 

In the final two minutes of play, Brennan Othmann caught Morgan Barron up high with the stick to give Winnipeg their fourth power play of the night. The Rangers had a shorthanded chance to close out the period but it looked as if Zibanejad was slowed down with a stick as Kreider tried dishing it ahead to him. Shots after two were tied at 17 apiece as the Rangers would still have 17 seconds on the penalty to Othmann before returning to even strength.

3rd Period:

Well, for the first couple of minutes in the third, it looked as if the Rangers were playing with somewhat of a push, at least in the offensive zone. Still, things were not operating smoothly in the defensive zone and sure enough, just three minutes in, Niederreiter found Dylan Demelo at the point who was able to let a shot go from the point that beat Shesterkin.

However, Peter Laviolette opted to use his challenge as Barron was right there in the crease and actually made some contact with Shesterkin's skate. It almost feels rare for a challenge to work in the Rangers favor, but the call was reversed and the score remained 2-1.

Not long after the no-goal, the Rangers got another crack at the power play as Lafrenière took a cross check to the face from Demelo. Another two minutes came and went with little to no impact from the Rangers power play unit. Returning to 5-v-5 near the midway mark of the period, the Rangers gave up another partial breakaway to Perfetti as a result of a defensive collapse that Shesterkin had to shut down.

The game didn't change much from there as time was beginning to run out for the Rangers to get this thing tied up. With two minutes left, they pulled Shesterkin for the empty net and proceeded to immediately turn the puck over. The Rangers were able to regroup and saw a number of close chances but as they have far too often this year, fell just short.

That's three extremely significant losses in a row, as the Rangers are winless in their last four. The Senators and Bruins both picked up a pair of points tonight, Montreal is currently winning 2-0 after one, Columbus lost but none of it matters when the Rangers continue to let themselves down on a nightly basis. Just a completely defeating feeling.

They're back at it Thursday Night as they'll pay a visit to the Wild in Minnesota for another 8 pm puck drop.