Another game on home ice, another loss for the New York Rangers. The Utah Mammoth may be an up and coming team, but right now they are mediocre in the standings and the Rangers should be better and should have won. Utah plays a skill and speed game, and the speed is what eventually won them the game after pinning the Rangers in their own end for long stretches at a time.
There are rarely many positive spins on any game this season, but how about that Mika Zibanejad? He has factored in on the last 7 Rangers goals, including both on the powerplay last night. His assist on Alexis Lafreniere’s opening goal was a thing of beauty. The season may very well be going nowhere, but if this is the Mika Zibanejad that we are going to get for at least the next few years, then the Rangers will at least have a steady presence at forward, wherever Zibanejad plays in the lineup.
Jonathan Quick is truly an ageless wonder. I can’t recall the last time a 40 year old goalie looked as composed in net as he does. After Igor Shesterkin left the game, Quick came in and got bumped in the second period, and it felt like he was the only one that responded. it wasn’t until Quick started taking shots at Utah that the rest of the team remembered that they should probably protect their goalie and get in the fray. It’s disappointing that the Rangers didn’t even look to protect either of their goalies after bumps (though later it was confirmed JJ Peterka did not touch Shesterkin, that was a non contact injury). That was a true lack of identity and something we shouldn’t see.
Vincent Trocheck can really fly under the radar at times, but he’s had a sneaky good productive season. With 25 points in 30 games, he’s been one of the only consistent producers on offense. Flanked by Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault, the trio has looked pretty solid at 5v5 and all three are clicking. He’s a good center for Perreault to play with, as he draws attention and opens ice for the rookie. Trocheck’s been one of the few bright spots and has been a sneaky good signing by Chris Drury.
Of course, the game wasn’t the only thing the Rangers lost in the end as Igor Shesterkin left at the 14 minute mark of the first period after falling to the ice after a non-contact incident on a play that looked like a collision at first. Non-contact injuries are rarely good, and Shesterkin could not get off the ice on his own strength. Hopefully the injury isn’t too serious. We will know more later.
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