The Rangers had chances. They just didn’t have Connor McDavid.
That was the difference in a game that fit the same ugly pattern for New York: score first, and they’re usually fine; fall behind first, and the results turn sour fast. The Rangers are 9-0-1 when they open the scoring, but 0-6-1 when the other team gets there first. That’s the kind of split that tells you plenty about how a night went.
Still, this one wasn’t the kind of lifeless drift that has haunted them before. Even after they got behind, the Rangers kept pushing in the second and third periods and generated looks. The problem was simple: they never found the finish to drag themselves fully back into it.
The lineup brought a few changes, too. Sean Durzi was listed day-to-day with what can be assumed to be a hand injury after blocking a shot a few games ago, which opened the door for Matthew Robertson to be recalled and for Scott Morrow to get into the lineup for the first time this season. Morrow, who turned 24 on Sunday, was part of the mix in a new-look defense group.
Up front, Gabe Perreault was dropped down the lineup, a move that didn’t exactly inspire confidence. But the deployment ended up being a little more mixed than it first looked.
Perreault actually logged more ice time with J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye, 6:28, than he did with Noah Laba and Will Cuylle, 5:55.
So the usage wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed, even if the idea of pairing him with Laba and Cuylle still didn’t feel like the cleanest way to jump-start him.
And then there was Connor McDavid, who did Connor McDavid things.
That’s the part you can’t really scheme away. The Rangers don’t have a forward who can manufacture a goal on his own the way McDavid can, and that gap showed.
You can talk tactics and mentality all you want, but talent like that doesn’t come with a workaround. McDavid is not a fair measuring stick, but he remains the kind of player who makes the point anyway.
In Other News...
Rangers Season Already Hinges On A Problem This Roster Must Solve
The Rangers have already been forced into an uncomfortable reset in net, and it comes at a time when the rest of the roster is still trying to find enough consistency to keep the season on track. Igor Shesterkins absence has left a massive void, and with the team also dealing with defensive issues and uneven play, every night now feels a little more precarious than it should this early in the year.
Dylan Garand has been handed the job and, at least in his first outing, gave the Rangers a reason to believe they can survive the stretch ahead. But one win does not erase the larger problem facing this group, especially with the recent losing streak adding to the pressure and the playoff picture already looking less certain than anyone around the team would like. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Need These 4 X Factors To Stop The Slide Against St. Louis
A four-game losing streak has put the Rangers in a tough spot as they head into a matchup with the Blues, who arrive with a little momentum of their own after winning two straight. For New York, the margin for error feels thin, and the path to getting back on track runs through a handful of players who can tilt the game in different ways, from steadiness in goal to a more dangerous look up front and a cleaner night on the back end.
Dylan Garand looms as a major piece of that equation, while Adam Fox and Pavel Dorofeyev are among the skaters expected to shape the Rangers response against a St. Louis team that has been harder to chase than it once looked. Alexis Lafrenire is also part of the conversation, but this is the kind of game where New York needs more than a name on the lineup card. It needs its key players to turn recent frustration into something that starts to look like a reset. [Read more 🡒]
Noah Laba Has One Problem The Rangers Cant Ignore
Noah Laba opened the season in a spot the Rangers hoped would give their third line some bite, centering Will Cuylle and Eeli Tolvanen and giving the trio a look that has fit together well. The line has brought the kind of energy and structure that coaches like, and Laba has done enough in the middle to keep the job for now, even as the team continues sorting out its depth down the middle.
The issue is what has not come with that chemistry. Laba has yet to score through 14 games, and while he has chipped in four assists, the lack of finishing touch leaves his long-term hold on the role a little less secure than his all-around play might suggest. For a Rangers team trying to build reliable center depth, that becomes a real question when there is another young option waiting for a chance to make his case. [Read more 🡒]