Not a banner night for the Rangers against the Winnipeg Jets, especially the top half of the lineup. Mika Zibanejad directly caused 3 goals against due to untimely turnovers, Adam Fox was out of position a few times, and the top-six simply couldn’t do anything against Winnipeg. Bad games happen, and few teams can win when its top-six and top pair are that sloppy, especially against a team that is now 15-1-0.
Funny enough, the Rangers outshot the Jets 36-33, but the Winnipeg shooters had better chances and converted more on Igor Shesterkin. Once again, we are standing here after a frustrating loss in which the Rangers really beat themselves in the long run with turnovers, penalties, and soft coverage in high danger areas.
The first goal–which was also Winnipeg’s first shot on goal–was the result of Mark Scheifele being left all alone in front. Later, Gabe Villardi was gifted a 2-on-none route to the net as K’Andre Miller was left hung out to dry by Fox on the penalty kill. Miller was deked out of his skates which resulted in the 2-on-none. Something has to change with these defensive miscues. This is supposed to be a Stanley Cup caliber team, and right now, they are looking more like a fluke playoff team.
The only bright spots on the blue line last night were Braden Schneider and Zac Jones, who have truly progressed into a solid defense pair. The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing expecting different results, and this is how the Rangers coaching staff(s) have acted for quite some time now. Forward lines will change after one bad game, but defense pairs are an untouchable mechanism that will never change. Insanity at its purest definition.
Despite the defensive shortcomings, the Rangers bottom six once again showed up. The Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko line scoring twice at even strength. Watching Filip Chytil return to what we all thought he could be has been a joy to watch, and one of the better stories of the season. There is some serious golden retriever energy anytime he’s on the ice.
After yet another game where the Rangers deserved to lose, they flat out need to be better at everything. Zibanejad probably should not be playing top power play right now, as he is just so lost. Alexis Lafreniere scored in his stead as a brief Zibanejad replacement from PP1. Singling out Zibanejad isn’t necessarily fair, but he’s the low hanging fruit right now that needs to be addressed. Same with the defense pairs reverting back to what worked.
It’s still early, there’s no reason to panic. But the Rangers do need to fix things, and fix them fast.
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