Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Rangers defense failed them again last night, as they fell to the Islanders 6-3. This was the second straight game that the Rangers allowed six goals, and have allowed a whopping 17(!) in the past three games. The Rangers, for most of the game, controlled the Islanders, but the Mike Kostka turnovers turned the entire game around. It’s unfair to pin the entire game on him, but those turnovers were brutal and gave the Isles the tying goal and the lead at the time.

Henrik Lundqvist wasn’t his usual Hank self. He allowed one pretty bad goal (Nick Leddy) that really put the game away. Usually he stops those.  The entire offense is based around Rick Nash lately. It’s just a tough time for the Rangers, who are adjusting to big turnover, rookies, and injuries. Plus, this game could have been a lot different had Jaroslav Halak not been unreal in the second period.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Islanders 0

There’s not much to say on this one (no picture either), but it was a goal that Halak needed to stop.

Islanders 1, Rangers 1

goal 2

Hockey happens sometimes, especially on the powerplay. Hank was screened, and Boychuk placed the puck perfectly: Through traffic, elevated enough to get under the pad, but not high enough to catch the blocker.

Rangers 2, Islanders 1goal 3

This was one of the few that required a legitimate breakdown. Griffin Reinhart came up from the corner to the puck on Lee Stempniak’s stick, despite the fact that John Tavares was on the half boards already. This allowed Derick Brassard to cut to the middle untouched. Stempniak got the puck to Chris Kreider behind the net, meaning Reinhart was out of position on the boards. Brian Strait deserted the point to go to Kreider behind the net (worth noting that you can’t score from behind the net), as Brassard was cutting to the slot. Kreider hit him with the pass, and Halak stood no shot.

Islanders 2, Rangers 2

goal 4

Kostka turnover #1. This one was bad, as it was a soft little chip pass that was too fancy. Cory Conacher picked it off, and Tavares buried it.

Islanders 3, Rangers 2

goal 5

Kostka turnover #2.

Islanders 4, Rangers 2

goal 6

Sorry for the blurry picture, I do this stuff with my cell phone. But, where were the backchecking forwards?

Islanders 5, Rangers 2

goal 7(0)

You can see the two-on-one coming right here. The goal itself was bad luck off Kevin Klein, who had a decent rebound game after the debacle on Sunday. But seriously, you can see this coming.

Islanders 6, Rangers 2

goal 8

From this distance, with no screen, Hank needs to stop this.

Rangers 3, Islanders 6

goal 9

The Islanders took a nap on this one. Nash slid in behind all five Isles, collected the pass from Anthony Duclair, and buried it.

Shift Chart:

Courtesy of war-on-ice

Courtesy of war-on-ice

This is, for lack of a better analysis, an interesting shift chart. What I usually do is look for the best player/line, and see the players that AV routinely sent out. But in this game, it looks like he tried to get Girardi/McDonagh out against Tavares, but it didn’t work sometimes. As for forwards, the MSL line got some shifts against Tavares, but so did the Kevin Hayes line and the Brassard line. Just, interesting deployment. No real pattern.

Fenwick Chart:

Courtesy of war-on-ice

Courtesy of war-on-ice

The Rangers dominated this game. This wasn’t even score effects, it was pure domination from the second period on. Halak really kept the Isles in this one, and the Isles made their own luck by forcing turnovers and putting the puck on net.

I know it seems bad, but the Rangers had a bad start last year too. The defensive breakdowns will cease, the goaltending will improve, the injuries will heal, and the depth will start scoring. At this point, it is what it is. It’s an 82 game season, we are four games in. There’s a long way to go. It’s not even Halloween yet.

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