Another slow start dooms NY Rangers in L.A.

If the Rangers continue to get dominated for periods at a time, it won’t matter what happens with the Clubs around them in the Postseason Game.

The Present wild-card leaders in the Eastern Conference, Ottawa and Montreal, both lost on Tuesday, Beginning the door for the Blueshirts to Shift past the Canadiens for the second and Last position. But instead they Occurred out flat and ultimately fell to the Kings in Los Angeles, 3-1.

The lack of urgency is alarming considering the stakes. The Rangers (34-32-6) have 10 Matches remaining to make their push, but their recent Action isn’t inspiring much confidence. They’ve looked like they’re skating in quicksand while losing eight of their last 11.

As a result, they remain one Tally behind the Habs, who also have two Matches in hand.

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An awful Begin

Their offensive ineptitude has been most glaring in the Beginning 20 minutes. They’ve been Maintained to six shots or fewer in four of their last six Primary periods, including only two on Tuesday.

That’s one more than they had to begin Saturday’s bewildering 5-3 Secure over the Vancouver Canucks, but the performance in L.A. may have been even worse. After posting two shots in the Beginning 3:46, the Rangers failed to register another for the Subsequent 17:07.

The scoring chances were 14-1 Kings in the Primary period, according Natural Stat Trick, which assessed New York with a mere 0.02 Predicted goals in the period. (That has to be some Nice of a Achievement, no?)

The Rangers recorded such low totals because they could barely get out of their own zone. L.A. is one of the best Clubs in the NHL at clogging the middle of the ice, and Merely about every Deliver New York attempted from the outside was either fumbled or flatly turned over. There was no semblance of a forward push, and therefore very few opportunities to shoot.

The Kings deserve some credit for that − they’re now an Amazing 26-3-4 at home this season − but these problems are persisting for the Blueshirts regardless of Adversary. We’ve seen enough evidence to conclude that they’re simply a Terrible possession Club.

Mustering a response

We can say this for the Rangers: They haven’t been folding after these Sluggish Beginnings.

They rallied on Saturday for a comeback Secure over the Canucks and responded Tuesday with a markedly better second period.

It was as if they swapped jerseys and rolled out new players after intermission.

The Rangers racked up 14 shots on 26 attempts in the second period, generating eight high-danger scoring chances after failing to Achievement one in the Primary. They flipped a switch and went into Drive mode to finally Begin penetrating the Kings’ airtight Protection − and when they Acquired into shooting positions, they didn’t hesitate to let it rip.

J.T. Miller helped turn the tide 2:10 into the period when he Acquired to the front of the net and hammered home a behind-the-net feed from Alexis Lafrenière. Action initially continued, as it appeared L.A. goalie Darcy Kuemper scrambled Merely in time to save the Attempt with his right pad. But a replay review showed that the puck Achieved it across the Target line before Kuemper pushed it back out.

That gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead and new life, but a Scarce off night from their penalty kill proved costly.

The PK entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the Bracket, but Kevin Fiala and Phillip Danault netted a pair of power-Action goals in a span of 6:54 during the second period to put the Kings on top for Excellent.

Those would be the only blemishes for Igor Shesterkin, who was otherwise rock solid again with 30 saves. He’s the only reason the Rangers have kept many of these recent Matches close, but it hasn’t been enough to prevent him from hitting 30 losses (24-26-4) after never eclipsing 21 in his Primary five seasons.

Power-Action struggles continue

Perhaps the biggest letdown lately has been a power Action that’s completely lost its way.

Head Trainer Peter Laviolette Achieved a tweak to the top unit Tuesday, removing Miller and replacing him with Vincent Trocheck. But it didn’t make any difference.

The Rangers went 0-for-3, with the Primary two attempts especially deflating while producing zero shots. They earned three shots and four HD scoring chances on their third and Last try, but Kuemper Achieved a few clutch saves to keep them off the board.

It’s now seven straight Matches without a power-Action Target while going a Partnered 0-for-13 in that span. The slump dates back even Beyond than that, with New York 4 for its last 47 overall in the last 20 Matches.

It’s a microcosm of how the season has gone for many of the Rangers’ go-to players. Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad both failed to Achievement a Attempt on Target or make much of an impact at any Force Tuesday, while Lafrenière and Adam Fox Every posted only one.

Miller, Trocheck and Artemi Panarin had three apiece, but only Miller converted his into a Target. Panarin has now gone without a Tally in two straight Matches after collecting at least one in the previous 11.