Rangers Get Wind Knocked Out Of Them In Chicago
USA Today
Following a convincing victory on Tuesday night at MSG, the Rangers came into the United Center looking for their second consecutive win. Unfortunately for the Blueshirts, it wasn’t meant to be as the Blackhawks defeated David Quinn’s team 4-1.
Quinn: “That was, really, probably as poor as we played all year. One of the things I think we’ve done a good job of is skating and competing, and that wasn’t the case tonight. We have to get back to work on Saturday. That was just not acceptable.” #NYR
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) October 26, 2018
Pavel Buchnevich – The lone Rangers goal in this one came on a rebound tally off the stick of Pavel Buchnevich. After Howden passed to Brendan Smith at the point, Smith’s shot was kicked out by Hawks goalie Corey Crawford and right into the path of the waiting Buchnevich. The young Russian fired a laser into the back of the net to tie the game in the first period.
https://twitter.com/4bnyrgameday/status/1055622562405801984?s=21
Defense – The Rangers blue line had an interesting night, to say the least. The first Blackhawks goal came when Adam McQuaid and Brady Skjei collided just inside the Rangers defensive zone, giving Chicago captain Jonathan Toews a clear shot that beat Lundqvist. At the end of the first period, the aforementioned McQuaid had a knee on knee collision with Brandon Saad and he would miss the rest of the game.
Brendan Smith played a decent game, but had to defend Fortin without a stick and the Hawks capitalized. Kevin Shattenkirk wasn’t too noticeable on the ice in this one, which can be interpreted either as a positive or a negative.
As for the pairing of Neal Pionk and Marc Staal, the two played well together. Pionk has really shown he can be a top defenseman in this league. Staal has been solid so far this season.
David Quinn – When discussing the Rangers head coach, there are two things that come to mind regarding this game. First is the too many men penalty the Blueshirts had early in the second period. It seems to be that the Rangers take one of these penalties every game. Is it part of the growing pains of a first year NHL head coach? Maybe if it wasn’t such a pattern. But regardless of whether or not you can find a worthy excuse for this phenomenon, it has to come to an end sooner rather than later.
The second point of contention for me is the ice time Filip Chytil didn’t receive tonight. The line of Chytil-Hayes-Fast was buzzing in the opening two periods, but Quinn replaced Chytil with Vlad Namestnikov for all but three shifts in the final frame. Did Chytil do something wrong that warranted Quinn benching him? Possibly. However, Chytil has done everything except score a goal this season, and has certainly shown he belongs in the NHL.
Henrik Lundqvist – In case anyone was wondering if Henrik Lundqvist has looked his age this season, the answer has been a resounding no from the Swedish netminder. King Henrik made a few unreal stops to keep his team in the game, even though it wasn’t enough in the end.
Nex Game; the Rangers will look to get back in the win column in LA against the Kings. Puck drops at 330.
LETS GO RANGERS
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