The Montreal Canadiens came away with the win last night in a game that neither team really deserved to win. These are two teams loaded with speed, but played at the speed of lineups filled with Donald Brashear clones. Both teams got quality scoring chances, and both goalies were forced to make some pretty remarkable saves, but in the end it was a 60 footer that swung the game to the Habs.

Apparently not scoring is a thing that only happens multiple games in a row for the Rangers. If not for a Carl Hagelin powerplay goal with ten seconds remaining on Tuesday night, the Rangers would have been shutout for the second time in a row for the second time this month. Henrik Lundqvist made some fantastic saves, but let up the 60 footer to Max Pacioretty with five minutes left. Carey Price stopped all 24 Ranger shots.

There’s not much of a breakdown for the lone goal, but it’s only one goal, why not:

Habs 1, Rangers 0

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Oy. Hank, you made some great saves, but you gotta stop this one.

I don’t want to cheat you guys on a good read, so here are some bonus thoughts from the game:

  • Yea, Hank let in a bad one, but this shouldn’t have been close. He made stellar saves. He’s not the reason they lost.
  • Marc Staal played like someone killed his puppy or something. He was certainly angry all game. He played well, one of the few.
  • Derek Stepan is putting up points despite himself. He’s way too indecisive on the powerplay, and there were two times with the empty net where he held on to the puck too long, and it led to clears. Great passer, slow thinker.
  • Speaking of the powerplay, PP2 needs some work. It starts with Dan Girardi and his inability to keep his feet moving on the breakout. You should read this from Kevin Power at Blueshirt Banter. Broke it down nicely.
  • Chris Kreider needs to get used to the punishment he’s going to take from Montreal. He can’t get baited into that penalty from P.K. Subban. He’s lucky they called Subban on it too.
  • At some point, Alain Vigneault will need to address why he is not dressing the best possible lineup each night. The Rangers cannot roll four lines when Tanner Glass plays, simple as that. I get that J.T. Miller isn’t perfect and makes a lot of mistakes, but he’s still better than Glass, and no one can really question that.
  • Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying Miller would have scored or the Rangers would have won. But when you don’t dress your best lineup, you open yourself up to second guessing.

Fenwick Chart:

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The Habs had the advantage all night, which matches what we saw on the ice. The Rangers had poor puck support, poor puck management, and just seemed to not have it last night.

Individual Corsi:

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This was a pretty even split down the middle. Carl Hagelin had a bit of a rough game.

Scoring Chances:

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Also in line with what we saw. Hank made a lot of great saves to keep this game scoreless.

Shot Location:

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Another game where the Rangers allowed a lot of shots from the slot. This is a noticeable trend. When they win, they limit those shots. When they lose, they don’t.

Shift Chart:

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Patches, Plekanec, and Weise (the top line for Montreal) got Girardi/McDonagh, as expected. Staal/Klein got Galchenyuk/Gallagher/Desharnais (their second line), also expected. Worth noting that Kevin Hayes didn’t see a shift for a ten minute span in the third. Lee Stempniak didn’t play in the final ten minutes. Glass was moved up for one shift with Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast, then he saw the bench.

Losses happen, but the lineup decisions are beginning to become significant problems. All in all the Rangers are still in a good spot, with games in hand and a solidified playoff spot. They have a very winnable game against Carolina coming up on Saturday, so a rebound would be nice.

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