Let me say this without anyone suggesting that I will tell Alexis Lafreniere a bust or a disappointment or somehow an example of how the Rangers don’t know how to feed teenagers.
But, for the third straight game in which the open ice reached a first and the game was played in tight spaces, David Quinn left the selection for the first overall draft of the rotation during the second half of the third period.
The first overall draft of the 2020 draft got two rounds worth 1:24 over the final 11:56 of Monday’s 2-0 loss to the Islanders, in which the visitors struck out twice in the first half. 2:05 after a first 51:15 without goals.
This after the number 13 received two rounds worth 57 seconds compared to the final 10:40 of Thursday’s 4-2 victory in the capitals, which was a match after receiving two rounds worth 1: 29 in the final 11:13 of the 3- 1 victory against the penguins on 1 February.
It is fun. People assumed, and you, me and Felix Unger, who we know what happens when you do, that Lafreniere would naturally elevate his game after scoring his first NHL goal with the game winner in overtime. in Buffalo on January 28th. reason, however, the 19-year-old’s game has stalled.
It’s not so much around or around the disk. Instead, he has been stuck in traffic, unable to get out into the open ice. Of course, there have also been two games in a row on the third line with Brett Howden, who has many admirable qualities, but the service of his wingers ’offense is not at the top of that list.
Lafreniere played a 14:02 sum, including 2:00, in the second unit of the power play that achieved little in this matter that for 40 minutes could have had a Jacques Lemaire around 1995 behind the two benches. The Islanders had more effective pre-control than the Rangers, who generally made line changes on the disc and therefore had little chance of creating support. Lafreniere was credited with five hits, but recorded no shooting attempts.
In addition, he was part of the group on the ice due to the massive confusion that led to the 2-0 goal in his last change, although perhaps the least guilty. This was Lafreniere’s last change of the night, with Kaapo Kakko getting the time with the extra attack that had previously gone to number 13.
Casey Cizikas had hit one from the goal at 11:15 capitalizing on an unfortunate gift from the left corner to Libor Hajek instead. Now, the islanders were exploding unopposed, as they were allowed to do much of the night. Mathew Barzal almost put the reducer away having drawn the entire left side defense away, but the shot went straight into the arms of the goalkeeper.
Somehow, Matt Martin had slipped on the left side, ignoring him. The Rangers looked frozen in time as Clutterbuck sent a pass that Martin put home from the left door at 1:20 p.m. Howden and Anthony Bitetto, both on the scene, were left with their gloves stretched. His pleas were not answered.
“It was a one-on-four and we just didn’t play it well,” said Quinn, whose team played pretty well on the block, but at the same time blocked their own offensive play. “Clutterbuck is just around the corner, we leave the center and our driver stops checking.
“We had four against two and I think everyone assumes someone else will do something. It was a poor read. It was a general confusion, because I thought we had too many guys who had a chance to do something and no one did anything. ”.
The Rangers were minimalist in the offensive zone. Semyon Varlamov, who has spent 120:00 without giving up a goal in the garden this season with this one after closing on opening night, made a couple of cunning stops on Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin, but the Blueshirts they were able to create traffic in front of the goalkeeper or generate second chances. Almost finished.
Zibanejad, stuck in one goal and two assists in 11 games and with one point (one assist) in his last eight games, was one more factor in the offensive zone. But Chris Kreider didn’t impact much and neither did Pavel Buchnevich. This unit, however, was more effective than the Panarin-Ryan Strome-Kakko triumvirate that produced far more than it created.
Outside the record and in the defensive zone, there was a lot to like. The Rangers made just 30 shots, just a couple of ticks above the 27.7 average they brought to the game, which is good for the 10th best in the NHL. Last year, the Blueshirts surrendered to second place in the league with 34 shots against. Two years ago, they were the third worst, with a 33.8 against. This is real progress.
The Rangers won’t get any breaks on the calendar, with the Bruins then for a pair on Broadway. They are not known to allow much open ice. We’ll see how much is awarded late to Lafreniere if the game is in play.