rangers avalance brendan smith

AP Photo/Joe Mahoney

Don’t let that 3-1 score fool you. The Rangers and the Avs were nowhere near that close on the ice yesterday. It was only Henrik Lundqvist’s brilliance that kept the game close and kept the Rangers relevant in the loss. This was yet another game where the Rangers only played about 20 minutes of hockey, and were severely outplayed by the Avs.

Without Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal, Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, and Chris Kreider, the Avs skated circles around the Rangers. The Blueshirts hemorrhaged scoring chances by the dozen, allowing Colorado to waltz right up Main Street to get quality chances on Lundqvist. I guess this could be expected, given the roster makeup right now. But with three more games to go on this west coast road trip, things could get ugly fast.

On to the goals:

Avs 1, Rangers 0

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/954811893897670657

Erik Johnson basically skated through the entire zone uncovered. Daniel Catenacci didn’t see him at the back door for the tap-in. The other problem is once again a defenseman (Steven Kampfer) chases to the far boards instead of releasing at the dots.

Avs 2, Rangers 0

Kampfer out against Nathan MacKinnon is always a terrible idea. He didn’t force him to the outside, instead allowing him to cut to the high slot. You can’t do that with someone like MacKinnon. Kampfer’s gap control here is pretty bad, and MacKinnon has a lethal shot.

Avs 2, Rangers 1

This was a very long shift for the PK. Mats Zuccarello made his typical great pass to the slot for the deflection by Pavel Buchnevich, who read the opening in the zone very well. Credit to Rick Nash for being in front and drawing Johnson’s attention.

Avs 3, Rangers 1

Empty netter.

Score Adjusted Corsi (even strength)

That is not what you want to see from a team that just had a pair of relatively strong showings. The offense didn’t get much, and that flat line in the third is troubling, but allowing over 60 shot attempts in a game is shameful.

Scoring Chances (even strength, not score adjusted)

Of those 60+ shot attempts allowed, half were of good quality. That’s not a good ratio, but I don’t think I needed to tell you that.

The Blueshirts were shorthanded, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. It shouldn’t be for any team. Take a step back for a second. Do you honestly think the Rangers can compete for a Cup this year? Let’s hope the front office recognizes this as well.

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