Rangers look slow and sloppy in Game 1 loss

AP / Sean Kilpatrick

The Rangers looked almost as bad last night as they did in Game 3 against Montreal, falling to the Senators 2-1 in a game that was not as close as the score suggests. The Rangers were outplayed all night by Ottawa, and this would have been a blowout if not for Henrik Lundqvist. Hank did everything he could to keep the Rangers in it, including stopping 21 shots in the first period alone. But it wasn’t enough.

Craig Anderson wasn’t tested much in this game, as the Rangers couldn’t muster any sustained offense. There were a few good chances, but for the most part Anderson didn’t have to move to make his saves. Very few shots were taken with traffic in front. There was no forecheck. There was no speed through the neutral zone. There was nothing that resembled Rangers hockey. It was a poor effort by all not named Lundqvist.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Sens 0

Ryan McDonagh received the puck up top with time. He waited for Chris Kreider to get to the slot to provide the screen, then put one through Craig Anderson.

Sens 1, Rangers 1

Too many penalties bit the Rangers hard here. Kyle Turris took a great shot that Hank fought off, but couldn’t control the rebound. It went to Ryan Dzingel, who had time to find twine on the rebound. This was a good powerplay by the Senators. Brendan Smith laid out to block the Turris shot, which I’m fine with in that situation –and with how he laid out, taking the bottom part of the shot– since it forced the shot with no open pass lanes. Marc Staal will catch some flack, but he had the first man in front. This was just a good powerplay by the Sens.

Sens 2, Rangers 1

Simply put, Hank wants this back. It looks like it hit off Derek Stepan first, before going over Hank’s shoulder. I initially said this was a bad goal, but since it hit Stepan, it’s tough to put it on Hank.

Score Adjusted Even Strength Corsi

The interesting part of this game is that, per the score adjusted numbers, the Rangers had an advantage in the first. It certainly didn’t seem that way, as Hank had to make numerous great saves. But the part of the game that broke the Rangers was the middle of the second through close to the end of the third. The Blueshirts weren’t able to muster anything consistent as the Sens poured it on with offensive zone time. Not a good look.

Scoring Chances

This is another one of those charts that vexes me. It seemed like the Senators dominated the first period, but the Rangers had more shots deemed scoring chances. Perhaps the great saves are sticking out in our minds? Or perhaps the chances for the Rangers didn’t get through or missed the net? Either way, the defense seemed to fall apart during that stretch mentioned above.

This was a terrible game by the Rangers. It could have been 4-1 or 5-1 had Lundqvist not been Lundqvist in this game. It was only Game 1, so there isn’t reason to panic yet, but this game was just like Game 3 against Montreal. That was a wake up call for the Rangers, and hopefully this will be too. But if the Rangers play like this all series, the Sens will make quick work of the Rangers.