Rangers pay huge price for special-teams failures in crucial 4-0 loss to Devils
The New York Rangers have struggled on special teams all season — and those struggles cost them dearly on Saturday, when the New Jersey Devils parleyed a power-play goal and a short-handed goal 1:27 apart midway through the second period into a 4-0 victory at Prudential Center that blew another hole in New York’s playoff hopes.
Timo Meier’s power-play goal at 10:56 of the middle period opened the scoring, and Jesper Bratt connected on a shorthanded 2-on-1 break at 12:23, giving the Devils a lead they would never relinquish. Meier made it 3-0 with 4:59 left in the third period, and Nico Hischier added insult to injury for the Rangers fans who made the trip to Newark by hitting the empty net 1:11 later.
Jacob Markstrom continued his career-long success against the Rangers by making 26 saves to improve to 12-4-3 against New York, including 3-0-1 this season. Two of Markstrom’s four shutouts this season have come in the Rangers’ two visits to Newark.
The Rangers finished 0-for-2 on the power play, dropping them to 2 for their last 43. They’ve allowed three shorthanded goals in the past four games, including one in each of their past two.
“We’re looking for something offensively, maybe pressing too much,” coach Peter Laviolette said when asked about the shorthanded goals allowed. “Any time you’re doing that, you’re subject to get caught the other way.”
Mika Zibanejad said the power-play struggles aren’t just a recent issue.
“It’s the whole season,” he said. “We’re close to dead last. That’s not good enough.”
New York outshot New Jersey 26-16, including 11-4 in the third period. Igor Shesterkin made 12 saves and had no chance on any of the three goals he allowed — but got no help from his teammates.
The Rangers were unable to take advantage of injuries that have sidelined center Jack Hughes and defenseman Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey’s two most important offensive players, and failed for the eighth consecutive time to win three straight games – something they haven’t done since Nov. 14-19. They are 0-4-4 in those eight games.
The Devils, who are all but assured of finishing third in the Metropolitan Division and facing the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, came out with the kind of fire the Rangers needed but didn’t exhibit.
“I watched the Montreal Canadiens win in overtime the other day, and the celebration — they were so excited. I watched the Rangers win in overtime and I didn’t see the same amount excitement and passion for the win. The light’s not on — and I don’t know why.” former Rangers captain Mark Messier said on ABC after the game.
New York (36-33-7, 79 points) are ninth in the Eastern Conference and fell four points behind the Montreal Canadiens (37-30-9), who edged the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 at Bell Centre on Saturday night.
Related: Will Cuylle continues to impress in second Rangers season
New Jersey Devils 4 – New York Rangers 0
The puck officially dropped at 12:38, but with the exception of Shesterkin, the Rangers didn’t show up on time. The Devils were quicker all over the ice and usually first to the puck. New York didn’t get its first shot on goal until Adam Fox’s long wrister at 9:42. By then, the Devils had five shots and forced Shesterkin to come up with big saves on a wraparound by Ondrej Palat and a quick shot from in front by Stefan Noesen after he picked K’Andre Miller’s pocket.
The Rangers finally tested Markstrom at 13:29, when Alexis Lafreniere picked up a loose puck and walked unimpeded into the slot, but his hard wrister hit Markstrom in the shoulder. New York picked up its level of play after that, but carelessness in the defensive zone forced Shesterkin to make a big stop on Bratt with just under one minute remaining to keep the game scoreless through the first 20 minutes. The Devils had a 7-4 margin in shots on goal and a 17-10 edge in attempts – New Jersey was the better team everywhere but on the scoreboard.
The first power play of the game went to the Rangers when Justin Dowling high-sticked K’Andre Miller at 5:23 of the second period. The first unit not only generated nothing but allowed Bratt to go in alone on a shorthanded breakaway, forcing Shesterkin to make his best stop of the game. The second unit took over and had an excellent shift, forcing Markstrom to come up with big saves on a tip by J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad’s rebound try.
By the midway point, the Rangers had outshot New Jersey 6-1 in the period and had more zone time than they’d had in all of the first period. However, the game was still scoreless, with the visitors owning a 10-8 lead in shots on goal.
But unlike the Rangers, the Devils wasted no time capitalizing on their first power play. Sam Carrick went off for interference at 10:52, and Nico Hischier won the face-off against Vincent Trocheck, getting the puck to Luke Hughes at the left point. The younger of New Jersey’s two Hughes brothers slid a perfect pass to Meier, whose 30-foot one-timer from inside the right circle beat Shesterkin cleanly at 10:56 for a 1-0 lead.
The Rangers got another power-play chance and an opportunity to tie the game at 11:49 when Dawson Mercer was sent off for tripping. But New York’s woeful power play not only didn’t connect, it surrendered Bratt’s shorthanded goal. Brenden Dillon’s breakout pass sent Bratt and Hischier away on a 2-on-1 break. Bratt went to the net and tapped in Hischier’s perfect pass for a 2-0 lead.
That’s the way the period ended – a bad sign for the Rangers, who entered the day as the only team in the NHL without a multigoal comeback victory.
Gabe Perreault, in his second NHL game after signing with the Rangers on Monday, came close to getting the Rangers on the board 5:50 into the third, but Markstrom stopped his screened wrister. Each team had a chance during New Jersey’s second power play after Will Borgen was called for hooking at 6:22, but Shesterkin robbed Meier at the left post and Markstrom stopped Chris Kreider’s shorthanded wrister seconds later.
Meier added an insurance goal at 15:01 by squeaking a shot past Shesterkin. Markstrom preserved his shutout with two sensational saves on Will Cuylle before Hischier put his 35th of the season into an empty net with 3:38 remaining.
The Rangers’ schedule gets a lot tougher in the next week; they begin a stretch of four games in six days when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to Madison Square Garden on Monday night for their first of two visits in the season’s final 10 days.
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