The kids may be okay, but the Rangers need their veterans to win.
After a match where their young core carried the team to at least one point in a shootout loss to the Penguins, the Rangers finally saw some life from their veteran group, but not nearly enough as they fell 3-2 to the same team. Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
“Our veterans know they need to get better, there’s no question about it,” said head coach David Quinn after the loss, dropping the Rangers to 1-3-1. “We talked to them privately, they admitted it, they know that. The good news is that these are guys who are established players in this league and are good players. The good news is that our young players continue to develop and they play good hockey against really good players. “
But the Rangers lost one of their most crucial youngsters just over halfway through the second half when 21-year-old Filip Chytil collided with Evan Rodrigues. He hit the ice hard and got up slowly before heading to the locker room with what the team said was an upper body injury. Quinn had no update on Chytil after the game.
The Penguins again came from behind when they erased a 2-1 deficit to start the third period with goals from Jared McCann and Jake Guentzel. Despite a power-play opportunity with a 2-2 draw in the final frame, the Rangers failed to capitalize and eventually gave up Guentzel’s game winner with about 1:30 left on the clock.
“We can sit here and talk about some of the good things we’ve done and the opportunities we’ve had in the third period,” said Quinn. ‘But you have to win hockey games, you have to find a way to win. A man cannot get a shot from that area with a minute and 30 to go. You have to have urgency, you have to know who is dangerous and just really disappointing.
“To come in here and play good hockey and get out with one point is really disappointing.”
For the second game in a row, the 20-year-olds were the only players to keep the Rangers competitive. Rookie defender K’Andre Miller broke plays, put his teammates on the rush and penguins star Sidney Crosby in the corners to keep the Rangers in play.
Sophomore defender Adam Fox extended his point streak to four games when his shot from the top of the zone at 4:36 pm of the first period was diverted by fellow Harvard alum Colin Blackwell, who made his Rangers debut earlier in the day. to make.
The new fourth line from Blackwell, Brett Howden and Kevin Rooney generated some of the Rangers’ most dangerous opportunities.
Although Ryan Strome registered his first point of the season when he flipped a bouncing puck in the crease over Penguin’s net lesser Tristan Jarry to break a 1-1 draw at 5:17 PM of the second period, the Rangers just needed more of their top six. to win.
“We know our roles, we know our responsibilities, but we just haven’t succeeded,” said Mika Zibanejad, who had two shots on target. “You can’t just lie down and feel sorry for yourself, you just have to work through it and get to work.”
The only Rangers youngster not at the top of his game was rookie goalie Igor Shesterkin, who turned 16 of the 19 shots he faced in his first back-to-back start of the season.
However, the Rangers had one of their better first periods of the season, taking a 1-0 lead on Blackwell’s count at 4:36 PM. But Bryan Rust managed to make a leading group more than halfway through the second period with his second goal in as many games against the Rangers.
“Of course you get up one-nothing, you feel good about that, but I thought we were really sloppy about 12 minutes in that second period,” said Quinn. “You could just feel it, I knew they were going to have one.”