Rangers Unable To Weather Hurricanes In Carolina

Oct 8, 2018

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It was a track meet in Carolina with both the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes going back and forth for 60 minutes of high scoring excitement. Despite netting five goals, it just wasn’t enough as Carolina won 8-5. The Blueshirts fall to 0-3-0 out of the gate, which hasn’t happened since the 1998-99 season.

The Offense Came Alive – It was due. The offense had been relatively sporadic for the first two games of the season, and as fast as the Rangers would create chances, they would also not even touch the opposite blueline for an extended period of time. 10 different Rangers got on the scoresheet in this one, which is certainly pleasing to see.

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Jimmy Vesey – If the puck was approaching the opposite goaltender, it was more than likely from the stick of Jimmy Vesey. His confidence is exponentially growing and with good reason. After not scoring in the first two games of the season, he made up for the missed opportunities by scoring two in Carolina.

His first coming off of a silky smooth pass from Kevin Hayes (yes, Kevin Hayes), on a 2v1 opportunity under a minute into the matchup.

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The second goal came from a nice backhand pass from a streaking Brady Skjei down the right side. Vesey was seemingly forgotten and Carolina’s goaltender, Petr Mrazek, had no chance.

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Chris Kreider – Kreider brought his “A” game against Carolina, both on his sweater and on the ice. Finding a whole in Mrzaek not once, but twice, helped keep the Rangers within reach. Kreider didn’t find the net either in the first two games but made up for it against the Canes. This could be the spark to get him rolling. 

After playing a career-low 56 games last season due to a very serious blood clot in his arm, Kreider failed to reach 20 goals for the first time in three seasons. His scoring is very important to the balance of this team, and as of now, it seems he is finally on the right track.

Brett Howden – The kid is showing he belongs on the NHL roster. In back-to-back games, Howden has picked up points and has made a very noticeable impact when his skates are on the ice. His assist came on a dish to Chris Kreider who was cutting toward the slot.

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Alexandar Georgiev – Georgiev got the nod after Lundqvist played the first two games of the season. Where do you even begin? It was not a good night for the Bulgarian goaltender.

After being a sustainable backup for 10 games last season, the thought was Georgiev would be learning and getting better, but that wasn’t the case against Carolina. There were some very soft goals allowed, mind you that not all eight were entirely his blame.

The defense as a whole needs to build a more stable last line of defense in front of Georgiev. McQuaid was beaten on several occasions in foot races, including one that cost the Rangers a goal in the second period for Carolina to tie it up 3-3.

Next Game: The Rangers will have to regather as they prepare to face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday at MSG. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

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