AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

In a game that had a playoff atmosphere, the Rangers let up for just 1:39 in the second period, and it cost them the game. Almost immediately after taking a 1-0 lead on a bad goal allowed by Marc-Andre Fleury, one that should have helped the Rangers build momentum, the Rangers surrendered three goals in that 1:39 span to close out the period, and they never recovered.

First it was a Sidney Crosby tap-in off a weird carom. Then it was a defensive breakdown for one second. Then it was a penalty followed by the ever-so-reliable New York Rangers penalty kill that allowed another cross-ice pass. When you make mistakes against teams like this, you get burned, and the Pens burned the Rangers on a pair of mistakes (I’m not counting the Crosby goal as a mistake).

But hey, at least it gave us another solid gif. HANK SMASH! However since there is no update on his status after colliding with Ryan McDonagh, we may have to hold our collective breaths for a bit.

As always, you can view the full videos on our video page here. All GIFs are on nyrgifs.comfiltered under the date of the game. On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Pens 0

As the powerplay expired, Ryan McDonagh hit Mats Zuccarello with a stretch pass to gain the zone as Chris Kreider jumped off the bench. Zucc got it to Kreider, who shot it short side on Fleury. Fleury honestly should have had this.

Pens 1, Rangers 1

crosby goal

Carl Hagelin’s shot went wide, but took a big carom off the boards. Lundqvist lost it, and Sidney Crosby simply tapped it in behind him. Puck is clearly over the line.

Pens 2, Rangers 1

malkin goal

The Pens moved the puck well on this shift, and eventually Evgeni Malkin left the puck at the point and then cut to the net. Derick Brassard lost him for a second, then couldn’t catch up, as Malkin was able to put the puck over Lundqvist’s shoulder.

Pens 3, Rangers 1

hornqvist goal

Another penalty kill, another cross-ice pass allowed. This time to Phil Kessel, and his shot was deflected by Patric Hornqvist over Hank for the third goal in 1:39.

Pens 4, Rangers 1

Kessel with the empty netter.

Shot Attempts

shots

“The Rangers actually played an overall good game, it was just those three minutes that killed them. Unfortunately, three minutes like that will doom them against any playoff team, not just the Penguins. Plus that penalty kill is still atrocious. But hey, process win!”*

*-I’m being facetious, you’ll see why.

Scoring Chances

scf

Folks were calling last night a process win. I kind of laughed at that. The Rangers played well in terms of controlling the overall play, but they didn’t generate many scoring chances and allowed way too many to Pittsburgh. This graph may not look like much, but the shot locations chart shows more.

Shot Locations

shot locations copy

This is what I mean from my blurb above. The Pens really kept the Rangers to the outside for most of the game. Meanwhile the Rangers just allowed the Pens to be all over them. This is not what you want to see.

Shift Chart

shift

This chart baffles me. First off, McDonagh and Girardi barely got shifts in the last ten minutes, down two goals. Half of that I’m fine with, but McDonagh not getting much time? And McIlrath getting a ton of time? That is weird.

Down two goals: Play Tanner Glass? Barely play Eric Staal/Viktor Stalberg? I’m confused.

I get that the Rangers have another game tonight in Washington, and that Alain Vigneault might be conserving energy. I get that. I’m just confused, that’s all. This isn’t the first time I’ve been confused by some of his decisions this year, but I’m not the coach, nor am I a “hockey guy” who works closely with them. Oh well.

This wasn’t a game that the Rangers needed to win, but it would have been nice to take this one against a team that is really hot right now. This stretch to end the season is difficult, and while it likely won’t cost the Rangers a playoff spot, it will give us an idea of where they stand against the rest of the conference. The process was good in this game, but the mistakes need to stop and the penalty kill is still a train wreck. Not a recipe for playoff success.

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