ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ideally, having clarity on management’s direction would allow the Rangers to play with a freer spirit.
Reality, however, doesn’t usually cater to idealism.
The Blueshirts could not match the Ducks — and several of their ex-teammates — in an empty-net-abetted 5-3 loss Monday night, marking their ninth defeat in the past 12 games. While the Rangers came out swinging in their first game after Chris Drury’s retooling announcement, the energy and execution wasn’t as formidable this time around.
On the heels of the organization’s statement, coach Mike Sullivan accurately pointed out how the Rangers have been engulfed in outside noise since last season.
The hope is that some organizational transparency ahead of the Olympic break would alleviate some of the pressure.
Between poor puck management and a slow start to the third period Monday, any buoyancy the Rangers may have had was weighed down.
“One of the simplest, easiest ways to beat yourself is to not manage the puck appropriately,” Sullivan said after the loss. “If you do, you give teams opportunities to create easy offense And I think in a few of the events of tonight, we beat ourselves because we didn’t take care of the puck.”
Exactly four minutes into the game, the Rangers were able to capitalize on some extended zone time.
Mika Zibanejad tipped the puck back to Matthew Robertson, whose slap shot from the top of the zone went five-hole on Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal. It counted as the rookie defenseman’s third goal of the season and his first since the last time the Rangers faced Anaheim on Dec. 15.
The Ducks swarmed below the hash marks later in the period, creating some traffic in front of Rangers goalie Spencer Martin. A puck deflected off Robertson’s skate and right to Mason McTavish for the 1-1 score.
Scoring on the power play in a third straight game, the Rangers retook the lead on Artemi Panarin’s 19th goal of the season. Despite some prime chances to even the score later in the game, the power play converted on two of its four opportunities.
Anaheim applied significant pressure on a goalie who was making just his second start of the season.
Jeffrey Viel scored his first goal as a Duck to even the score at two-all, cleaning up a rebound after the Rangers were hemmed in their zone.
Anaheim later made it a 3-2 game on their second power-play opportunity of the period. Alex Killorn buried a puck that had already trickled past Martin off Jacob Trouba’s shot.
Just over a minute into the third period, Drew Helleson’s keep-in at the blue line allowed Cutter Gauthier to give the Ducks a two-goal lead. While Vladislav Gavrikov’s power-play goal cut the Rangers deficit to one, the visitors weren’t able to find the equalizer.
“I think the guys are doing their very best to take a professional approach through this process,” Sullivan said Monday morning. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks here, most recently. I do think that these guys take a lot of pride in what they do, and they and they care a lot. I’ve had this conversation with you guys on so many different occasions, and it’s not just coach speak, it’s my honest assessment of this group of players. … Does it change the mindset? It may, in some strange way. There’s clarity of direction and people understand where we’re all at right now. I think there’s no speculation.
“There’s clarity in the direction. And maybe clarity might bring a little bit of a freer spirit with that clarity. I’m not sure, to answer your question. I think time will tell.”
Credit: Source link
