The New York Rangers are suddenly dealing with problems all over the ice, and the loss to the LA Kings laid them bare. The goaltending has been uneven, the defense has wobbled under pressure, and offensively the team is mostly getting production from the top six.
In a year-one re-tool, getting blown out like that still wasn’t supposed to be part of the script, even with third and fourth string goalies in net. The Rangers now head into Sunday’s game against Connor McDavid and the Oilers needing a reset, whether the issue is fatigue from an early heavy schedule or a dip in focus tied to the Shesterkin injury.
The goaltending situation was messy from the start. The Rangers went with 38 year old James Reimer, who had only had limited reps in Hartford while on a PTO, and the move lasted one period.
He allowed 3 goals on 9 shots. It was a rough welcome back to NHL action, with late reads and slow reactions showing up immediately as he gave up the first two shots on goal.
The Rangers clearly did not want to use Spencer Martin, and with Joonas Korpisalo still working back from a lower body injury, they’re scraping for answers in net. This is league average goaltending at best, and in Reimer’s case it was a huge ask to drop him straight into that spot.
Maybe more practice time would have helped, but against the Kings it was too much, too soon.
The defensive setup at least got some attention. Mike Sullivan finally changed up the pairings, and the results showed both the need for it and the limits of what it fixed.
Marcus Petterson and Sean Durzi were on the ice for the two goals against, with Durzi pinching too aggressively on the first one and Taylor Ward finishing the resulting breakaway. The second came during a scramble on a delayed penalty.
The back end has been overdue for a shake-up, and Scott Morrow could be the next name to get a look.
Even if Sullivan keeps mixing the lines and pairings, the Rangers may need a different kind of puck-moving defenseman just to change the feel of things. After Adam Fox and Vlad Gavrikov leave the ice, things have been shaky with the Petterson-Durzi and Smits-Schneider pairings.
The goalies have to be better, especially on the lower-danger chances, but the bigger issue is the volume of quality looks against. Giving up 10-15 high danger chances in an NHL game is a recipe for paying for it.
The one encouraging piece is that the top six is still doing its job. Even in a loss, points from Alexis Lafreniere and JT Miller are a sign those guys are staying locked in. Miller has 3 goals in the last 4 games, while Lafreniere has 16 points in 14 games.
This skid isn’t permanent, but it’s making the problems obvious. The Rangers can still score with their best forwards. What they need now is cleaner structure in their own end and better play from the goalies not named Igor Shesterkin or Joonas Korpisalo.
In Other News...
Ducks Moving On From Chris Kreider Looks More Telling Now
Chris Kreiders post-Rangers stop in Montreal has been a quiet one so far, and not in the way the Canadiens hoped when they added him on a one-year deal in September. Through 11 games, the veteran winger has managed just one goal and three assists, a line that looks especially light for a player who once brought dependable scoring punch during his years in New York and later helped fuel Anaheims playoff push.
The numbers underneath the surface have been even less flattering, with his shot-share and chance-generation metrics landing below what Montreal is getting from most of its regulars. For a player who was released by the Ducks and quickly claimed by the Canadiens, the early returns are a reminder that the fit never quite took hold in Anaheim, and they make that decision look a little more revealing in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Crease Debate Just Got More Interesting After Fowlers Statement
The Rangers goaltending depth became a talking point almost immediately after Igor Shesterkins injury opened the door for a new backup plan, and James Reimer is now part of that picture on a one-year deal. The veteran arrived after a professional tryout with Hartford and had already shown he could still give a team a steady night in net, which is exactly the kind of insurance New York wanted to add with Shesterkin sidelined.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, Montreals crease picture picked up a little more intrigue when rookie Jacob Fowler turned in a 33-save performance in an outdoor game against Winnipeg. For a division already full of unsettled questions in goal, that kind of showing only adds to the pressure on everyone trying to sort out where the next reliable option comes from. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Suddenly Have A Goalie Question They Did Not Expect
The Rangers latest home setback came with an unexpected wrinkle in net, as Los Angeles rolled into Madison Square Garden and handed New York a 6-3 loss to snap a six-game home winning streak. The Kings controlled the tempo early and never really let the Rangers settle in, turning what had been a tough building for visitors into a game the home side was chasing from the start.
James Reimer was making his Rangers debut and immediately became part of the nights storyline, with the club facing a goaltending conversation it probably did not anticipate this soon. New York still got offensive contributions, including from Artemi Panarin, but Darcy Kuempers 22 saves helped Los Angeles keep control, leaving the Rangers to sort out where the crease picture goes from here. [Read more 🡒]