Photo by Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images
The Rangers seem to make a habit of winning the puck possession game, but losing the actual game. Usually I try to put a silver lining on it, since it’s been proven that puck possession leads to wins. Eventually the Rangers will get wins, but this is frustrating to watch.
Ondrej Pavelec had a pretty good game, keeping the game tied or keeping the Jets within a goal at times. Cam Talbot came crashing back to Earth in a big way, but a pair of goals were on odd-man rushes. That said, the Rangers need to find a way to bury these chances they are getting.
This game was the first of an easy month for the Rangers, which includes a trip to Buffalo on Thursday followed by nine straight home games. A win against a mediocre Jets team, a win that would have put them two games over .500, would have been a nice start to the month.
On to the goals:
Rangers 1, Jets 0
Turnovers. Goals. Science.
Carl Hagelin “forced” Keaton Ellerby into a turnover, in the sense that he was skating by Ellerby en route to a change. Ellerby’s cross-ice pass in the defensive zone was near no one in a white jersey, but right to Ryan McDonagh off the boards. McDonagh stepped into a slap shot from the point while Mats Zuccarello snuck behind Mark Stuart. Zucc deflected McDoangh’s shot for the early lead.
Jets 1, Rangers 1
Suit and I disagreed on this goal. I thought Michael Del Zotto played the situation fairly well, sticking to Devin Setogucci on the give-and-go with Olli Jokinen. Sure he may have given him about a foot, but I’m not going to slam him for it. I thought Justin Falk was a little too lenient on the goal, giving Jokinen way too much room to operate. Falk was on the face off dot while Jokinen was on the boards, giving him ample time to put the puck on Setogucci’s stick. MDZ was up on Seto, forcing the shot from the top of the circle. Seto just beat Talbot with a nice shot.
Side note: There is no picture on this one because I couldn’t get a clear picture. Relatively annoying, since this is the one goal where there’s a disagreement in the ranks.
Jets 2, Rangers 1
Four deep, not good.
Derick Brassard just attempted an awful, awful pass on the offensive zone entry, which led to Dustin Byfuglien picking it off, trapping four Rangers deep. Buff hit John Albert in the seam, and Talbot simply had no chance.
Rangers 2, Jets 2
Ryan Callahan scored a Ryan Callahan-esque goal. With Ondrej Pavelec out of position, Cally charged the net and outworked Jacob Trouba and Bryan Little to bang home the loose puck. Meanwhile, Stuart was off to the left watching the play. No image here either, nothing really does it justice.
Jets 3, Rangers 2
This goal was a little weird, but only in the sense that MSG didn’t show any solid angles on the replay. The live feed and both replays showed that awful corner angle shot instead of the actual play, and they missed the play. But from what it looked like, the defense (Del Zotto, Dan Girardi) played the situation well. Jokinen was left uncovered in the slot, where Hagelin was the closest man to him. Jokinen is Dom Moore’s man, but I don’t know where he was in relation to the play.
Sorry for the bad breakdown here, I just couldn’t see a good angle on this.
Jets 4, Rangers 2
Brad Richards turned the puck over in the offensive zone, leading to a 3-on-2 rush up the ice for Winnipeg. Michael Frolik got the puck to Jokinen in the high slot, where Talbot simply couldn’t get all of his shot. It’s a bit of a weak goal, if you can call an odd-man rush a weak goal.
Jets 5, Rangers 2
Empty netter. No breakdown here.
Fenwick Chart:
Courtesy of ExtraSkater
The Rangers actually dominated puck possession all night long, but Pavelec made some key saves. Throw in the Jets ability to block a ton of shots (Rangers had a 61.2% Corsi advantage), and it becomes a frustrating game to see. Then again, this appears to be the story with the Rangers. Dominate the puck possession game, but find a way to lose. It’s actually fairly frustrating.
This game was supposed to begin a stretch of games where the Rangers are supposed to make a run. By not beating Winnipeg, the Rangers have set themselves back again, and need to go to Buffalo to regain some confidence. After that, it’s nine straight at home against mostly bad teams. They need wins.
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