Powerplay shines, but Rangers drop opener to Avs

Photo: Jim McIsaac/Newsday

The Rangers came out last night looking to start the season on the right foot, but fell to the lowly Avs by a score of 4-2. Semyon Varlamov outplayed Henrik Lundqvist, who looked a little shaky, and the Rangers were unable to convert on some solid chances throughout. There were some bright spots, though. Kevin Shattenkirk was solid. The powerplay was phenomenal, moving the puck very well. Mika Zibanejad still has a cannon. They fought back after being down two early.

Overall the Rangers played well, but couldn’t find a way to finish, hitting Varlamov in the chest more often than not. Usually that’s a sign of a goalie playing well, but he was leaving rebounds that the Rangers just couldn’t get to. The broadcast said the Rangers did everything they should have to win, but didn’t. I agree with that assessment. It should only get better from here.

On to the goals:

Avs 1, Rangers 0

Filip Chytil didn’t get his stick in the passing lane, which allowed Nail Yakupov to hit Patrik Nemeth as the fourth man in. Nemeth’s shot was stopped by Hank, but Matt Duchene got body position on Kevin Shattenkirk and had access to a rebound.

Avs 2, Rangers 0

After a questionable tripping call on Chytil, the Rangers penalty kill made a few mistakes. First, there was the chase to the corner, which left the passing lane cross ice open. Then both Jimmy Vesey and Brendan Smith went to challenge the shot, which meant Brady Skjei had to shift to the slot. That left the cutting Mikko Rantanen wide open. Hank had no chance.

Avs 2, Rangers 1

The Rangers owned this powerplay. Eventually the Avs were scrambling and the puck got out to Shatty, who found a wide open Mika Zibanejad for the first goal of the season.

Rangers 2, Avs 2

Another powerplay goal. This time Mats Zuccarello got the puck along the boards and found Zibanejad at the point. What a shot.

Avs 3, Rangers 2

Good breakout by the Avs, as Pavel Buchnevich couldn’t keep up with Tyson Barrie. Alex Kerfoot led him with a perfect pass, and Barrie placed a great shot just inside the post from the high slot.

Avs 4, Rangers 2

Gabriel Landeskog empty netter.

Score Adjusted Corsi

The Rangers certainly controlled play for much of the game, although they did allow some lengthy periods of offense for the Avs. The outcome isn’t what we want, but if the Rangers play like this and control play like this, they will win more often than not. Just need to tighten up a bit defensively, which should happen as the learning curve for the new guys progresses.

Scoring Chances

The one thing the Rangers were still really good at was dominating the scoring chances. They took advantage of a lesser quality opponent, getting numerous high quality scoring chances. But again, Varlamov was the difference.

I’m not going to over react to one game. There were some good things from last night’s loss. There were some areas that need improvement. There were other areas that should come around sooner rather than later. Let’s see how they rebound in Toronto on Saturday.