Rangers Blow Lead Late, Fall To Red Wings In OT 3-2

Nov 10, 2018

52b855c9-d0fb-4d55-9b49-74f63ea65ffd-si_20181109_cja_aa1_03

Detroit Free Press

Hoping to extend a four game winning streak, the Rangers entered the LCA in Detroit as winners, and left as losers. After commanding most of the game and peppering Jimmy Howard with 2 power play goals, the Rangers gave up goals within the first and last two minutes of the third to Justin Abdelkader and Andreas Athanasiou, then Dylan Larkin hput the nail on the coffin with the OT winner with just about 5 seconds left in overtime. Here’s our recap of the game.

 

3rd Period = Rangers’ Kryptonite? This seems to be a recurring trend, even through this winning streak. The trend? Losing leads late in games. Similar occurrences in Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim led the team to blow the lead late and that same trend reared its ugly head last night as Justin Abdelkader and Andreas Athanasiou both netted goals off of failed defensive plays and coverage within the Rangers zone. After an exhausting cycle of plays within the Rangers zone, New York couldn’t change their full 3v3 unit, which led to a defensive breakdown and Dylan Larkin’s tip in goal to win it. If this team wants to become competitive, they must learn how to sustain late period leads.

Power Play Success: The Rangers played a strong forty minute effort and part of that was due to the strong play on all ends that was only thwarted by Jimmy Howard. You can only hold off a team so much, as the Rangers finally broke through the Howard wall on a double minor committed by Jacob de la Rose. First, Kevin Shattenkirk scored from the left circle on the first penalty with a bar down snipe to get the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Moments later, Neal Pionk netted his third goal in three games, this time his shot was a point shot that deflected off a Red Wing player to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Rangers are struggling on the power play this season, so netting 2 out of your 3 chances on the man advantage is a good start for this young, Rangers squad.

Goalies Stole The Show: Rangers and Red Wings is always guaranteed to be a strong, goaltender battle for the most part. Jimmy Howard elevates his game versus the Rangers with a GAA under 2 and 7 wins versus New York. He made 28 saves and a .933 save percentage last night versus the Rangers. On the other end, Henrik Lundqvist also made 28 saves and a .903 save percentage in what was a usually solid Henrik performance, even though he was on the short end of the stick.

Quick Thoughts: Rangers played well for over forty minutes. All they need to do is become consistent in closing games out, whether it’s now or later on, all of these games are crucial to the development of the team and want to avoid negative trends as much as possible, like consistently blowing leads late. Other than the third period, the team was engaged and on top of the puck for most of the evening. Sadly, as they say, almost only counts for horseshoes and hand grenades.

The Rangers go right back to action, as they face John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets. 7PM is the game time. LETS GO RANGERS

 

(Featured image courtesy of the Detroit Free Press)

More About: