The Rangers were shutout by the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Here are some takeaways…
– Meeting with the media following Monday’s practice, the Rangers talked about getting off to better starts on home ice. They were able to do just that in this divisional matchup, carrying the momentum over from their strong West Coast swing, but still found themselves trailing after 20 minutes.
– New York had plenty of chances early in the opening frame, but they were unable to beat netminder Pyotr Kochetkov with any of their 15 shots on goal, and then free agent addition Nikolaj Ehlers gave Carolina the 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season on the power play.
– The Rangers’ power play had plenty of their own chances to capitalize. They had four shots on goal during their first opportunity in the opening frame, then recorded six more after Carolina got caught with too many men early in the second, but still couldn’t beat the dialed in Kochetkov.
– They had one more opportunity to get on the board with the man advantage later in the second period, but this time had it killed off without a shot on net. The Rangers are now 0-for-12 on the power play over their last five games and an ugly 4-for-36 (11.1 percent) for the season.
– Minutes later, Carolina won an offensive zone faceoff and defenseman Sean Walker fired a wrister from the point that snuck through traffic and slipped past Igor Shesterkin to make it a two-goal advantage, which they would carry into the final frame. Walker came into the night with just one point on the season, but he played a part on each of Carolina’s tallies.
– The Rangers were completely flat in the third, bringing out the boo birds in the home crowd. With some sloppy play, they struggled to work their way out of their own zone and wouldn’t record another shot on goal until a dump in attempt that went on net with just six minutes remaining in the period.
– Head coach Mike Sullivan shook up the lines over the final few minutes once again, but it didn’t provide the desired spark. Seth Jarvis potted home the empty-netter with a minute and a half left in regulation, snapping New York’s three-game winning streak snapped and keeping them winless over their first six home games.
– Kochetkov finished the night with 25 saves, handing the Rangers their fourth shutout in those six home games.
What’s next
The Rangers head to Detroit for a meeting with the Red Wings on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
