Rangers ‘have to bounce back’ against Red Wings after poor showing
There’s no crisis with the New York Rangers. Not 12 games into the season, there isn’t. Even if that terrible 6-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres is still fresh in everyone’s mind, and the recent 3-3-0 stretch has been sub-standard.
But, yes, the Rangers are well aware they need to be much better when they hit the ice in Detroit on Saturday, looking to complete a season-series sweep against the Red Wings.
So, what do you the Rangers need to do, Filip Chytil?
“Just play our normal game and not play like we did last time,” Chytil told Colin Stephenson of Newsday after the morning skate. “I don’t know what to say. It was so bad, and everybody saw that. … It was just everything wrong. So we have to bounce back.”
That was an honest assessment from the Rangers center, who will be reunited with linemates Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko on Saturday. But coach Peter Laviolette was bit more specific in what the Rangers must do to get back on track.
“We weren’t determined enough in the [last] game. When we’re determined, the pucks on our stick more, we’re on the attack more,” the coach explained Saturday. “I would expect our guys probably weren’t happy with the game based on what I know, and they’ll be better tonight.”
Laviolette is preaching that the Rangers must play more forcefully on offense, dictate how games are being played. He’s concerned that the Rangers have been too passive the past two weeks, and that’s getting them stuck in their own end, where they’ve been sloppy and out-worked by the opposition.
The Rangers defeated the Red Wings twice already this season, though those games came before their recent malaise. They skated to a 4-1 win at home Oct. 14 and a 5-2 victory in Detroit three nights later.
Artemi Panarin has seven points (three goals, four assists), including a hat trick, in two games against Detroit this season.
Related: Rangers vs. Red Wings: 3 things to watch for seeking season-series sweep
Rangers rookie Victor Mancini ‘tries to keep himself ready,’ scratched for 3rd straight game
Rookie defenseman Victor Mancini, a Michigan native, will be scratched for the third straight game Saturday. In the Rangers previous visit to Detroit, Mancini scored his first NHL goal, with a large family contingent attending the game at Little Caesars Arena.
The 22-year-old last played Nov. 1, a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators. His defensive metrics had been heading in the wrong direction, and that game against the Senators wasn’t a great one for him.
Zac Jones returned to the lineup and will be paired with Braden Schneider for the third straight game Saturday. Laviolette praised the third defense pair following practice Friday, one day after Jones assisted on New York’s only goal by Cuylle against the Sabres.
As for Mancini, Laviolette is not concerned about letting the young developing player sit and watch again.
“You’re talking about a couple games here, but he’s played quite a bit,” Laviolette said. “He practices every day. He gets to work on things that can improve his game. Practices at an NHL pace and tries to keep himself ready.”
Mancini has four points (one goal, three assists) in nine games.
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