First Period:
- Easton Cowan (5) Assists: Jake McCabe (1), Jack Roslovic (6)
- Mika Zibanejad (3) Assists: Vladislav Gavrikov (5), Adam Fox (11)
- Teddy Blueger (1) Assists: Brandon Duhaime (1), Zack MacEwen (1)
Second Period:
- Oliver Bjorkstrand (5) Assists: Justin Dowling (1), Adam Fox (12)
- Tye Kartye (3) Assists: Adam Fox (13), Pavel Dorofeyev (4)
- Brandon Duhaime (1) Assists: Zack MacEwen (2), Teddy Blueger (1)
- Kirill Marchenko (6) (Power Play) Assists: Gavin McKenna (4), William Nylander (10)
Third Period:
- Alexis Lafreniere (8) Assists: Adam Fox (14), Mika Zibanejad (8)
- Troy Stecher (1) Assists: Morgan Rielly (8), Brandon Duhaime (2)
Stats:
Adam Rotter:
- Stinks that after battling back to tie it late in the third the Rangers don’t even get a point out of this game.
- They weren’t at their best tonight defensively and Dylan Garand was not his sharpest. Garand did make a number of excellent saves but he just seemed a little bit off and unsure from where he had been and that showed up on the ice and eventually the scoreboard.
- You do start to wonder if Garand does need a break. The Rangers are off for most of next week but they still have Ottawa on Sunday and LA on Monday before that break. I expect that Garand will play both of those games and the Rangers didn’t lose tonight because of Garand, but other than getting pulled against the Devils he has played every minute since Igor Shesterkin got hurt. That’s a lot for a goalie that has played really well but was also supposed to be the Rangers number three goalie this season. It’s possible they make a move for a goalie but it’s hard to see them giving up assets until they know what they have in Joonas Korpisalo and that could still be weeks away.
- Tonight’s loss was much more about the Rangers straying very far from the structure and style they need to play to win. They aren’t built to play these wide open games offensively or defensively. They will need to play these games from time to time and need to find a way to win, but the Rangers best chance of winning most games is with structure and defense.
- Justin Dowling seemed to get the message the Rangers were sending when they officially signed Luke Glendening to a contract today. Dowling brought the puck to the net on Oliver Bjorkstrand’s goal and may have earned another game but Glendening is likely to be the fourth line center going forward.
- Adam Fox had four assists and continues to be excellent to start the season. Alexis Lafreniere made some strong plays that led to the first goal and then got the tying goal as he continues to look like someone who is playing with a ton of confidence.
- A lot of what has made this a good start to the season wasn’t there for the Rangers tonight. The defense wasn’t there, the physicality wasn’t there, they weren’t winning as many battles and it cost them. Much like last week against the Devils, this game is over and the question will be how they respond on Saturday.
- Next up are the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday.