New York Rangers week ahead includes trying to rebound after back-to-back weekend losses
The New York Rangers will try to reignite their playoff push this week after a nightmarish post-trade deadline weekend that saw them lose to two of the teams they’re battling for playoff position.
After tinkering around the edges before the deadline on Friday by trading forward Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights and adding defenseman Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers missed their chance to take over a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with back-to-back losses against the two teams directly ahead of them in the standings.
They had to settle for one point when a 3-1 third-period lead turned into a 4-3 OT road loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, then got blown out 7-3 at home on Sunday by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The results left the Rangers heading into the first of back-to-back four-game weeks in ninth place, one point behind the Senators and two in back of the Blue Jackets, holders of the two wild cards. The Blue Jackets have a game in hand on the Rangers; the Senators have two.
After winning just twice during a stretch that saw them play five of six games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers face a nasty three-game trip that begins against the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and continues with a visit to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. But the key game comes Saturday, when the Rangers head to Columbus for a rematch against the Blue Jackets.
Even tougher is the fact that the Rangers have to fly back to New York for a Sunday night date with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers, who demolished New York 6-2 on Nov. 23.
We should have a much better idea of the Rangers’ playoff hopes a week from today. This is a week the Rangers can’t afford to be at anything but their best.
Who’s hot
Artemi Panarin has rediscovered his scoring touch. The Rangers’ top scorer (67 points in 62 games) has goals in each of New York’s five games in March, giving him 28 for the season. He’s two away from his fifth season (third with the Rangers) with at least 30 goals and his his five-game goal streak ties his NHL career high.
Who’s not
Igor Shesterkin was in goal for two overtime losses last week that saw the Rangers cough up third-period leads each time – a 2-1 edge against the Washington Capitals at the Garden on Wednesday turned into a 3-2 OT loss, and the Senators came from two goals down in the final 10 minutes of regulation before Shesterkin was beaten by Brady Tkachuk 33 seconds into overtime. His 21 regulation losses and 25 defeats (including four in overtime) are already career worsts.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 in a 15-day stretch that will see the Rangers play nine times.
Rangers at Winnipeg Jets (March 10, 8 p.m. ET; MSG)
There are easier ways to start a road trip than facing the top team in the Western Conference, albeit one that’s coming off a split of its four-game swing through the East, which ended with a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
The Jets have been first or second in the overall standings all season, riding the combination of Connor Hellebuyck’s goaltending (37-8-3, 1.99 goals-against average, .927 save percentage, six shutouts), a deep, balanced offense (five players with at least 50 points) and the League’s best power play (31.6 percent).
Winnipeg won 6-3 at the Garden on Nov. 12, setting an NHL record by winning 15 of its first 16 games. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, the Jets’ two 30-goal scorers, each had two against Shesterkin, who is 4-3-0 in his career against Winnipeg but with a 2.32 GAA and .932 save percentage.
Rangers at Minnesota Wild (March 12, 8 p.m.; MSG)
Minnesota is the only team that the Rangers haven’t seen yet; the Wild don’t come to the Garden until April 2. Minnesota is two different teams – a lousy 14-14-1 at home after a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday in the opener of a seven-game homestand, but a fabulous 22-10-3 away from Xcel Energy Center.
The Rangers are catching the Wild when they’re beat up. Star left wing Kirill Kaprizov and center Joel Eriksson Ek are both out with injuries, a big reason Minnesota has dropped behind the Colorado Avalanche for third place in the Central Division. Minnesota trails Colorado by two points but still holds the first wild card in the Western Conference.
New York is 19-14-1 in its all-time series against the Wild, with each team winning five times in the past 10 games. Interestingly, neither team has ever shut out the other since Minnesota entered the NHL for the 2000-01 season.
Shesterkin has played just three times against the Wild in his career, and is 2-1-0 with a 2.95 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. If Marc-Andre Fleury is in goal for the Wild, he’ll be going for his 35th career win against the Rangers.
Rangers at Columbus Blue Jackets (March 15, 7 p.m. MSG)
Every game is a big game for the Rangers now, but this one might be the biggest. The Rangers will be looking to avenge their embarrassing loss to the Blue Jackets and win for the third time in four games against Columbus this season.
Even with the loss, the Rangers have won seven of their past 10 games against the Blue Jackets, including a 4-3 victory in their first visit to Nationwide Arena on Feb. 8.
Panarin, who played two seasons with the Blue Jackets early in his career, scored his 14th goal in 21 career games against Columbus in the loss Sunday.
Edmonton Oilers at Rangers (March 16, 7 p.m. ET; MSG)
Connor McDavid & Co. wrap up a four-game swing through the East – the last three in the New York area — with their lone visit to MSG this season.
McDavid has 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 14 career games against the Rangers — including two goals and assist in the win in Edmonton that began New York’s year-ending 4-15-0 slide that knocked the Rangers out of a playoff berth.
NHL goal-scoring leader Leon Draisaitl is better than a point-a-game player against the Rangers (20 points; eight goals, 12 assists in 19 games). He had a goal and an assist in the early-season win.
Shesterkin has split two career decisions against the Oilers, allowing eight goals. Jonathan Quick, who could get the start in the second of back-to-back games, took the loss in Edmonton in November but is 25-13-6 against the Oilers with a 2.27 GAA and .918 save percentage.
More About:New York Rangers News