6 hours Ago By Mollie Walker
The Rangers’ advantage on the power play has dwindled significantly this season. After an 0-for-4 showing in their 3-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, the Blueshirts power play dropped to 17th in the NHL at 20.5 percent.
That’s on account of an 0-for-12 stretch in the last five games, as well as a 2-for-20 run in the last eight. “Maybe too perimeter,” Adam Fox said of the power play Sunday. “They’ve got a good PK, we couldn’t even get set up.
I think that’s the first and foremost. The last one, some good looks, but they’re aggressive. Got to move it quick, definitely get better opportunities, better looks and retrievals and then play off of that.
” The Rangers only mustered four shots on goal through their four opportunities with the man advantage, with all of them coming during the two they had in the third period. Laviolette has largely kept the first power-play unit personnel the same, aside from when Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin were out with injuries and Alexis Lafreniere filled in. On Sunday, Laviolette deployed Fox with four of the second-unit players in Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Reilly Smith and Will Cuylle.
It did not have the desired effect, however, as the unit struggled to even hold the zone. “Tonight I thought was execution,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of what’s ailing the Rangers power play. “They force really hard inside their penalty kill.
I actually thought the second unit had a couple really good looks, backdoor looks. But I don’t think we executed well enough and I think some of that has to do with that pressure.” Chasing down a puck to generate a rush opportunity, Jimmy Vesey dished it out to Chad Ruhwedel before the Rangers defenseman sent it right back to him for a deflection past Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov for the 1-0 lead 17 seconds into the first period.
Ruhwedel’s assist on the play counted as his first point with the Rangers. It was the Rangers’ fastest goal to start a game since Mika Zibanejad scored 10 seconds into a game in Anaheim on Dec. 14, 2019.
Zac Jones was a healthy scratch for the second straight game and the eighth time this season. Zibanejad skated in his 600th game with the Rangers. The Rangers face the Devils on Monday afternoon in Newark before the holiday break begins.
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