Costly mistakes doomed the Rangers in a 6-3 loss to the Jets on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Facing a good opponent with the league’s best record, they certainly were ready to play. The trouble was that they committed turnovers at the wrong time. The Jets took full advantage to improve to 15-1-0. They made NHL history by becoming the first team to win 15 of its first 16 games to start a season.

Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor scored twice for the visitors. Will Cuylle had a goal and assist in a losing effort for the Rangers. Connor Hellebuyck outplayed Igor Shesterkin, finishing with 33 saves. Shesterkin allowed five goals on 32 shots. Both teams scored on the power play. Winnipeg went 1-for-2. The Rangers were 1-for-4.

A big headline from the game was the deficient play of Mika Zibanejad. He turned over pucks three different times. All wound up in the back of the net. Zibanejad finished with a -4 rating along with linemates Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. K’Andre Miller was also culpable. He made some mistakes in coverage. Miller was a minus-four. Jacob Trouba was a minus-three.

The continued defensive issues that have plagued this team remain problematic. They can’t keep leaving hanging goalies out to dry. When he got off to a hot start, Shesterkin covered up those mistakes. Jonathan Quick also did in a recent shutout of the Red Wings on Nov. 9. When they don’t make the clutch stops, it’s a problem. The Rangers have relied heavily on each to start 9-4-1.

“We need to help our goalies more. Because five goals or six goals is still a lot. We just have to work on it every day now until it’s going to be – not perfect – but at least way better than right now,” a concerned Filip Chytil told Mollie Walker of the New York Post after the game.

https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1856540634510705019

Chytil’s line was one of the few bright spots. They produced two of the Rangers’ three goals. Cuylle scored his fifth to tie the score at one in the first period. Kaapo Kakko cut the Jets’ lead to one early in the third period. Both have formed a strong third line with Chytil. Their five-on-five play remains superb. As a line, they’ve outscored opponents 11-0 this season. The Rangers need to take a cue from how that line plays. There hasn’t been enough consistency at even strength.

Ever since Rangers coach Peter Laviolette changed his top two lines, it hasn’t worked out. Vincent Trocheck has struggled since being put with Chris Kreider and Reilly Smith. He’s more comfortable playing with Panarin and Lafreniere. It never made any sense to break them up. Laviolette tried to accommodate Zibanejad by bumping up Panarin and Lafreniere. At Wednesday’s morning skate, they were back together with Trocheck. Zibanejad was between Kreider and Smith. That’s how they’ll likely line up for tomorrow night’s game against the Sharks.

On the game’s opening shift, Kreider came close to putting the Rangers ahead. But his shot hit the goalpost. Trocheck also rang one off the post. A promising start was tarnished by a Zibanejad misplay. His errant clear led directly to Scheifele taking a Josh Morrissey feed and beating Shesterkin 57 seconds in. Neither Miller nor Adam Fox could do anything about that one. It was on Zibanejad to make a stronger play with the puck. Instead, Morrissey kept it in and found Scheifele open in front for his eighth.

A few shifts later, Cuylle had a good scoring chance. But Hellebuyck made the save. Following a stop on Adam Edstrom, there was a scrum. Morrissey was sent off for high-sticking Jimmy Vesey.

On the power play, the top unit generated very little. With the exception of a Zibanejad shot that Hellebuyck got over and stopped, they were unable to gain any momentum. Instead, they were on too long before the second unit changed. It’s been a recurring theme over the past few years. It doesn’t seem to matter who coaches them.

With less than seven minutes left in the period, a strong shift from the third line led to Cuylle tying the game. On a good cycle, Chytil moved the puck up for a pinching Braden Schneider, who let go of a wrist shot that came right to Cuylle. He was able to put in the rebound past Hellebuyck for his fifth at 13:07.

Following the goal, Trocheck took an ill-advised penalty when he held Cole Perfetti. In the first matchup between the number one ranked power play against the top-rated penalty kill, the edge went to the Rangers. In fact, Sam Carrick made a nice pass to lead Fox in for a shorthanded chance. But his backhand was foiled by Hellebuyck.

After each goalie took turns making saves, Lafreniere had his shot hit the goalpost in the final minute. Despite being on for four goals against, he was very active along with Panarin. Unfortunately, the center wasn’t. Following an even period, the game remained tied.

The second was controlled by the Rangers. They outshot the Jets 16-11 and generated better chances but were only able to beat Hellebuyck once. He made several critical saves, stopping 15 of 16.

On an early defensive draw, Zibanejad went to the bench in some discomfort. Whatever was ailing him, he only missed one shift. Trocheck took his place with Panarin and Lafreniere. Right away, he got a shot right on Hellebuyck. A bit later, Trocheck was on with Panarin and Smith. Hellebuyck turned away Panarin and Smith, who was denied on a backhand.

Still without Zibanejad, Laviolette had Chytil with Lafreniere and Panarin. Panarin tested Hellebuyck with a backhand that he handled. The trio spent some time in the offensive zone against Scheifele, Connor, and Gabe Vilardi.

The Jets’ top line got a favorable matchup against the Rangers’ fourth line. Connor had his shot stopped by Shesterkin. If there’s an area they need to fix, it’s improving the defensive coverage. There are too many instances when opponents get wide open chances in the slot. The structure they had under Laviolette last season has disappeared. Is assistant coach Phil Housley working on it?

Nearly halfway through the contest, Cuylle grabbed onto Connor to go to the penalty box for holding. After a near miss from Smith shorthanded, it was advantage Jets on special teams. On a good keep in by Neal Pionk, he created a two-on-one down low. Vilardi then dusted Miller to work a give and go with Nik Ehlers for an easy put away that made it 2-1 Jets.

Following a key Shesterkin save on Vladislav Namestnikov, Panarin was taken down by Connor. This time, the Rangers went to work on the power play. After Zibanejad fanned on a one-timer, the Jets cleared the zone. Lafreniere replaced Zibanejad on the top unit. On some good work from Panarin and Fox, they combined to find a wide open Lafreniere up top. He skated in and fired a snapshot past Hellebuyck to tie the score. It was his sixth of the season. The confidence he showed on the goal is a reason why he deserves to play on the top unit over Zibanejad. Of course, nothing changed.

On another effective shift from the third line, Zac Jones got a good backhand off that Hellebuyck denied. Along with Schneider, Jones continues to impress. He’s played very well since rejoining the lineup in place of Victor Mancini. With Jones and Schneider looking like the third defensive pair, how much longer will Mancini stay up? If he’s not going to play, they should send him down to Hartford. That way he plays in all situations. Perhaps they’ll consider it soon.

UPDATE: Apparently, they listened to me. Mancini has been sent down to the Wolf Pack. Chad Ruhwedel was recalled. It’s for the best. Mancini needs to play.

https://twitter.com/WolfPackAHL/status/1856823397197484313

Hellebuyck continued to be the story. On another good shift, Trocheck got a good scoring chance in the slot only to be stopped by Hellebuyck. That proved to a crucial moment. Less than a minute later, the Jets retook the lead with less than four minutes left.

Zibanejad fanned on a pass in the middle of the ice. That fueled the Jets’ quick transition. Pionk then sent Connor flying out of the zone. On a two-on-two with Miller back, he beat Shesterkin with a wrist shot blocker side to make it 3-2 with 3:57 remaining. It was one Shesterkin would want back. If he wants to get paid the big bucks, he needs to make that save.

https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1856511472408367435

Following the go-ahead tally, Winnipeg got caught with too many men. That put the Rangers back on the power play. Zibanejad came close but hit the goalpost. After the top unit again overstayed their shift, the second unit had basically the final 25 seconds to do something. Lafreniere created an opportunity by finding Kakko open in front for a shot that Hellebuyck stopped. Why can’t they get more power play time? Ask the coach.

With time to spare, Hellebuyck made a big save on Carrick. Vesey made a good play behind the net and had him open in front. Carrick had his one-timer denied by Hellebuyck with only 17 seconds remaining. That’s as close as they came to tying it again.

At the start of the third period, each side exchanged goals 32 seconds apart. Following a Zibanejad neutral zone turnover, Lafreniere had a clear attempt go off the skate of Connor. He then moved the puck across for Dylan DeMelo, who fed an open Scheifele in front for his second of the game to increase the Jets’ lead to 4-2 at 1:08. Trouba was too late on the switch.

On the next shift, Laviolette sent his best line back out. They delivered in quick fashion. Schneider took another shot from the point that Cuylle deflected off Hellebuyck. The rebound came to Kakko, who was able to steer in a backhand for his second of the season at 1:40. It snapped a seven-game drought. Although he went the previous four games without a point, Kakko continues to play well. He’s been more assertive during shifts. There’s more of a comfort level playing with Chytil and Cuylle. It’s nice to see.

Trailing by one, the Rangers didn’t generate as many scoring chances as they did in the second. The Jets were much better in the third – limiting the Blueshirts to eight shots. They held a 12-8 edge.

Shesterkin was called upon to make a few key saves. He was up to the task against Namestnikov, who had two point-blank chances denied. Shesterkin also would stop Vilardi to keep the deficit at one with less than 10 minutes left in regulation.

The closest the Rangers came to tying it was when Zibanejad got a good shot right on Hellebuyck, who handled it with ease. It was that kind of night for Zibanejad. He’s had too many of them. His last goal came against the Canadiens on Oct. 22. He’ll look to end an eight-game drought when the Sharks visit the Garden tomorrow night.

Winnipeg was able to extend the lead to two with 6:52 remaining. Initially, the Rangers fourth line spent some time in the Jets’ zone. Trouba pinched to try to keep the play alive. Instead, Namestnikov came out with the puck to start a two-on-one rush with Ehlers. He passed across for Ehlers, who sent a shot over the net. The puck took a carom off the back boards right back to Namestnikov, who tucked it in before Shesterkin could recover. On the goal, Miller took himself out of the play by going down. He didn’t get back up in time to prevent Namestnikov from scoring.

The Rangers had one more opportunity on the man-advantage. Instead, they failed miserably. In particular, Zibanejad flubbed a one-timer from the left circle. It was frustrating to watch. How many more chances will he get on the first unit? He isn’t doing enough to justify occupying a spot over Lafreniere. In limited duty, Lafreniere has two power-play goals. That’s two more than Zibanejad. It was only two years ago that he scored a career high 20 power-play goals. He had 12 last season. If he continues not to produce, a change should be made. They can’t keep catering to him.

With the teams back at full strength, Kakko gained the Winnipeg zone and had a wrist shot go off the goalpost. Cuylle then just missed on the same shift. With less than three minutes left in the game, Shesterkin came up with a pair of saves on Jets captain Adam Lowry. He was lifted with less than two minutes to go.

In their final push, the Rangers did everything but score. Hellebuyck stacked the pads to rob Lafreniere in tight. He then kicked out a long Panarin wrist shot through traffic. Panarin teed up another but went wide. Hellebuyck then denied Zibanejad from close range. He delivered the clutch saves when his team needed it most. At this point, he’s the best regular season goalie – surpassing Andrei Vasilevskiy. Hellebuyck is every bit as valuable to the Jets because they don’t have a great backup. Eric Comrie is in his second stint with Winnipeg after a failed two-year existence in Buffalo.

Connor scored into an empty net from his own zone to close it out. It was a disappointing but expected. The fact is that the Rangers aren’t on the Jets’ level. They played well enough offensively. Defensively, they were a mess. That was enough to lose.

Laviolette Goes Back to Old Lines

As I noted earlier, Laviolette decided to go back to the old lines. It looks like they’ll have a familiar look to them when the Sharks visit 33rd and 7th on Thursday night. The game marks the return of Barclay Goodrow. He could find himself on their first line with Macklin Celebrini. He still isn’t happy with how his departure happened. We’ll see what happens.

With Mancini reassigned, the defensive pairs were also changed back. No more Miller and Trouba for now. Miller is with Fox. Lindgren is with Trouba. Jones and Schneider remain intact.

FORWARDS

Kreider-Zibanejad-Smith

Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere

Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko

Edstrom-Carrick-Vesey

DEFENSE

Miller-Fox

Lindgren-Trouba

Jones-Schneider

Shesterkin Going the Wrong Way

In allowing five goals for a second straight start, Shesterkin has seen his save percentage dwindle. It went from over .930 to .913 rather quickly. His goals-against-average climbed to 2.85.

Any time a goalie gets chased the way Shesterkin did when he gave up five goals on 12 shots against the Sabres on 11/7, the numbers can get out of whack. Thursday wasn’t about him as much as it was about how the Rangers play. They’re careless. That must change.

If there’s an eye-opening statistic, it’s Shesterkin’s save percentage at even strength. It’s declining. When he won the Vezina in 2021-22, he posted an incredible .933 even strength save percentage. It went down to .925 in 2022-23. Last season, it fell to .918. Due in large part to his last two starts, it’s dropped to .906. The raw numbers are 27 goals on 288 shots.

Obviously, it’s a trend that has to change. There is little doubt that the Rangers will go as far as Shesterkin takes them. He needs help. Chytil touched on it. They have been far too sloppy. We’ll see if they can lock down against a younger and faster opponent that doesn’t mind trading chances.