N.Y. Rangers: Blueshirts Cannot Overcome Pandemic, Putin, and Penalties

From the desk: RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

WEDNESDAY

Rangers 3

Flyer   4

FINAL

The Rangers are a rebuilding team, right?  

Therefore I don't mind the adversity.

Playing without Filip Chytil and Jacob Trouba due to injury, without Kaapo Kakko and K'Andre Miller due to COVID, and Artemi Panarin playing spy games back in the USSR, you just knew the Blueshirts would be in trouble.  But that's not to say the Flyers weren't missing bodies as well because they were.  

That doesn't excuse eight penalties.  Igor Shesterkin needed to be an octopus out there.  It also doesn't explain their continuing futility on the face-off, outdone by a 35-20 margin.  Face-offs mean possession; possession means potential shots; Philadelphia out-shot the Rangers by a wide 39-27 margin.

See what happens when you loiter around the net?  Sometimes it takes brute force and ignorance, and sometimes it takes a sense of what's happening around you.  Chris Kreider records a hat-trick with two power-play goals and one at even strength, all of the tip-in variety.  Phil Esposito made a career of cleaning up garbage in front to the tune of over 700 goals.  No one ever accused Espo of being the best skater on the ice.

Chris Kreider was assisted by his centermen, finally.  Mike Zibanejad, although still unable to cash in opportunities like last season, assisted on two of Kreider's goals.  Ryan Strome and Colin Blackwell also picked up assists.  All told, Rangers' centermen joined for ten shots on goal and four points.

The Rangers turned over the puck in their own end early in the first period and essentially stayed there until Erik Gustaffson opened the scoring at the 7:38 mark.  Afterwhich, they were resigned to playing catch-up the rest of the way while having to kill 12 minutes in penalties, not to mention two delays of games.  Said another way, it was a very sloppy game.

I'm also a little puzzled why Ryan Lindgren skated a blueline low 14:45 minutes, and Jack Johnson is out there for 19:01 minutes.

Lastly, on this night, with two forwards missing from the lineup, I'm disappointed Brendan Lemieux only got 10:19 of ice time.