NEW YORK — An extended Tampa Bay Lightning offensive zone shift in the third period induced frustration from the Garden faithful.
The New York Rangers trailed by two goals with 10 minutes remaining in a game they were never really in. When the final buzzer sounded on the 4-1 home loss, they trailed 35-13 in shots.
Captain J.T. Miller was rightfully disappointed. Coach Mike Sullivan understandably expected more from his group, who entered Saturday on a three-game winning streak after beating the playoff-caliber Hurricanes and Bruins on the road.
“Starts with me,” Miller said. “Gotta be better and lead better, and just can’t have this anymore.”
The loss was New York’s 27th game of the season, which is tied for the league lead just after Thanksgiving. This week showed who the Rangers are: offensively potent, yet maddeningly inconsistent.
The Rangers showcased several encouraging trends in the wins in Carolina and Boston. New York held off the Hurricanes, who lead the NHL with 33.9 shots per game this season, according to NHL Stats. They had more than 50% of the expected goal share at five-on-five in the first two frames, according to Natural Stat Trick.
New York then generated a season-high 36 shots against the Bruins and scored six goals for the fourth time this season. They dominated Boston in shot attempts at five-on-five in the first two periods, per Natural Stat Trick, and finished with 55.9% of the expected goal share.
In both games entering Saturday, the Rangers closed out games by holding off late comebacks — Carolina had 78.4% of the expected goal share at five-on-five in the third period on Wednesday, per Natural Stat Trick, and Boston out-attempted New York 23-13 in the final frame on Friday. The Rangers scored empty-netters in both to seal the wins.
On Saturday, they failed to build on the momentum against a Tampa Bay club that was down three regulars: star center Brayden Point, power play quarterback Victor Hedman and the steady former Ranger, Ryan McDonagh.
Saturday was always going to be the toughest test for the Rangers. Tampa Bay, after a sluggish start, had gone 8-2-0 in its last 10 and rolled into Madison Square Garden on a six-game win streak.
The Rangers came out slow and disjointed. It took them nearly half a period to generate their first shot on goal. According to Natural Stat Trick, Tampa Bay at one point led 16-1 in shot attempts and had more than 99.4% of the expected goal share.
“We got outcompeted from the drop of the puck,” Sullivan said.
The Rangers improved, somewhat, in the second period. Though they conceded a second goal around 9:00 in, they cut Tampa Bay’s lead in half after Adam Fox threw the puck on net and it bounced in off Miller. The Lightning still outshot the Rangers 15-6 in the frame, and held a slight advantage in shot attempts (53.6%) at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
In the third, Tampa Bay again dominated. Nikita Kucherov fed Nick Paul in front of the net to restore Tampa Bay’s two-goal lead. Jake Guentzel sealed it with an empty-netter. The visitors controlled nearly 62% of the shot attempts, per Natural Stat Trick, and had 86% of the expected goal share at five-on-five in the frame.
“Will and determination,” Miller said. “And they were more willful than we were today.”
It was a maddening loss and effort, given how well the Rangers had been trending in the days leading up to this game. But perhaps this is who the Rangers are: a team with the offensive firepower to run up the scoreboard on some nights, then get completely outplayed on others.
The Rangers are one point out of a playoff spot. Staying afloat in a tight Eastern Conference will be a challenge that New York will have to navigate all season, one that is made easier if they can find their competitive edge on a more consistent basis.
