If one were to summarize the Rangers’ performance against the Capitals, it would be listless. They got beat repeatedly to every loose puck and lost countless battles. They also were outplayed severely. The end result was a well-deserved 5-3 loss to the Caps in D.C.
On an emotional night in the Bronx, when the Yankees finally showed some signs of life against the Dodgers to avoid a sweep in the World Series, the Rangers showed little emotion against the Capitals. They were a mess defensively. There were lapses in coverage that led to easy goals against Igor Shesterkin. If not for him, it could’ve been a lot worse. Shesterkin made 41 saves in the defeat. Many were on wide open slot chances.
If there was an early indication of how defensively inept they were, Alex Ovechkin was allowed to roam free for a pair of goals in the early going. The first one came when Capitals coach Spencer Carberry took advantage of a matchup against the Rangers fourth line. Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome combined to feed Ovechkin in the slot for a wrist shot that beat Shesterkin five-hole for the game’s first goal at 3:23. Ryan Lindgren was late to arrive on the goal.
Less than a minute later, the third line struck yet again. On a good play from Kaapo Kakko off a faceoff in the neutral zone, he pushed the puck ahead to himself to create a two-on-one with Will Cuylle. Kakko then made a nice backhand feed in front that Cuylle buried for his third of the season. It gave him goals in consecutive games.
But before they could gain any momentum from Cuylle’s rapid improvement, another defensive miscue led to Ovechkin getting his second of the first period. K’Andre Miller turned over the puck to Strome in the Rangers’ zone. He then moved the puck to Protas, who found Ovechkin for an easy finish to restore the Caps’ one-goal lead. This time, Adam Fox reacted too late to close out Ovechkin, who moved within 37 goals within Wayne Gretzky’s goalscoring record.
The miserable period continued. Shortly after killing off a Sam Carrick penalty, Taylor Raddysh was able to set up Connor McMichael on the doorstep to make it 3-1. The third pair of Braden Schneider and Victor Mancini got beat on the goal. Mancini was the closest player. There wasn’t much help from Chris Kreider or Mika Zibanejad, who continued to struggle at five-on-five. They were on for three goals against. That line with Reilly Smith has seen their ice time reduced by coach Peter Laviolette. The Chytil line is now being used more. They’re getting rewarded for how they’ve played.
After being outshot 19-5 in the first, the Rangers came out and played a little better in the second period. Kreider was able to connect on the power play when he got his skate on a Zibanejad pass to bank the puck past Capitals goalie Logan Thompson 30 seconds in. That pulled the Rangers within one.
However, they again shot themselves in the foot with more defensive breakdowns. During a four-on-four, Protas outhustled Miller to a loose puck in the corner. He then passed it back to Trevor van Riemsdyk, who moved it over for Rasmus Sandin. Protas then beat Miller to the front of the net to tip in a Sandin shot pass to make it 4-2. Miller’s struggles are becoming harder to ignore. Despite strong possession metrics, he makes glaring mistakes that wind up in the back of the net. He’s dragged down Fox, who hasn’t looked like himself this season.
During the same four-on-four, the Rangers came right back to pull within one just 14 seconds later. As usual, it was Chytil who got it done. Using his game-breaking speed, he moved the puck over to Mancini, who gained the Caps’ zone. Chytil then cut for the net where he deflected home a Mancini shot pass for his fourth of the season. Chytil has replaced Zibanejad as the Rangers’ most explosive center. He looks primed for a breakout season.
Despite picking it up, the Rangers got into a track meet with the Caps. They traded chances with them in transition. There was no semblance of any defense. It really was left for Shesterkin to fend for himself. He kept them within a goal.
The third period was a collective disappointment. A Zibanejad early penalty seemed to sap the Rangers’ energy. Even though they killed it off, they didn’t apply much pressure on the Caps. Instead, Shesterkin made several big saves to keep it at 4-3.
McMichael was all over the ice, leading all skaters with 10 shots. Laviolette thought he wasn’t ready for the NHL when he coached in Washington. All McMichael has done is prove him wrong. Given the way he’s mishandled Zac Jones, who again had to watch from the press box following a one-game return, you wonder what exactly Laviolette is thinking.
It’s probably similar to the thought process of bringing back Matt Rempe following a two-game cameo with the Hartford Wolf Pack this past weekend. Rempe lost decisively in a fight with Dylan McIlrath early. He took eight shifts for a total of 5:01 of ice time. What’s better for his development? Playing sparingly with the Rangers based on matchups or going down to Hartford to play regularly. It’s puzzling.
The Caps spent most of the third in the Rangers’ end. They had the defense backing up. They outshot them 13-6, creating more chances.
Thompson came up with a clutch stop when he denied Chytil. That was it. There wasn’t much else he had to contend with. Even when they lifted Shesterkin for an extra attacker, it didn’t amount to much. The Caps iced the puck twice. But Pierre-Luc Dubois beat Vincent Trocheck twice. It was an off night for the top line. Artemi Panarin was finally held without a point. Alexis Lafreniere finished with no shots. Trocheck picked up an assist on Kreider’s power-play goal. He almost had one but fanned on an attempt.
Laviolette stuck Chytil out in the final minute. Nic Dowd sealed it with an empty netter. It was fitting that a gritty Cap put the finishing touches on the game. They outworked the Blueshirts to earn the victory.
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