The Rangers are embarrassed on home ice, losing 5-1 to New Jersey

In their first meeting of the season, the Rangers hosted their Hudson River Rivals as they opened a four-game homestand to begin the month of December. With their first win in six games, the Rangers were able to put the past behind them and get their season back on track. Instead, they conceded two goals midway through the opening period and were nearly humiliated on home ice. With their defensive deficiencies at the forefront of another lifeless performance, this team is right back in first place just a week after its general manager tried to make a statement.

1st period:

Suddenly the Rangers had their sloppy starts again. It only took a minute and a half for the Devils to capitalize on an oddball rush when Braden Schneider was caught in the offensive zone. Jesper Bratt entered the game 2-on-1 and allowed a quick wrist shot that beat Igor Shesterkin and became a goal he would have liked to have scored again. 1-0 Devils.

It can’t be overstated how bad these slow starts are becoming a habit for the Rangers. Not only have they allowed goals in the opening minutes far too often to start the season, but they are also 2-8-1 when scoring their first goal of the game. That in itself is a big problem with this team, but the lack of urgency that follows these slow starts where an early goal is possible is just as concerning.

This continued to cause problems for the Rangers as less than six minutes later the Devils made it 2-0. A neutral zone change resulted in another defensive zone breakdown, allowing Dawson Mercer to walk through the no-man’s land between the slot and the point to fire a shot that rolled under Shesterkin’s pad. Again, it’s not a great goal for the Rangers’ star goalkeeper to let up.

Things were about to really get out of hand when Jack Hughes found himself all alone in a breakaway on the shift that followed goal number two. If there was ever a moment when Shesterkin needed to come up with a save, that was it, and luckily he was patient with the fake and came up with a crucial save to put Hughes out.

Just before halftime of the period, Douggie Hamilton earned the first penalty of the night after throwing a playerless Vincent Trocheck into the boards outside of play. The Rangers had a great chance to take some of the wind out of New Jersey’s sails, but instead the Devils showed an absolute masterclass in the penalty kill, blocking a number of shots to prevent the puck from reaching Jacob Markstrom at the net. They also allowed Jesper Bratt a chance to score on another breakaway, which fortunately didn’t pose much of a threat.

With just over two minutes left, K’Andre Miller almost got the Rangers on the board when he fired a shot off the post in the middle of one of the more effective exchanges to begin this game. As the half came to an end there wasn’t much to be happy about as the Rangers trailed for the first twenty games. However, despite trailing 2-0, they were 12-7 against the Devils, outscoring them in attempts and having a slight edge in expected goals.

2nd period:

The start of the second half was no better for the Rangers as they were down 4-0 in the first three minutes of the half. In that span, the Devils almost extended their lead when they hit the crossbar with a strange bounce in front of Shesterkin’s goal crease. With the puck going the other way, the Rangers converted a penalty after a strong attack from Adam Edström when Jonas Siegenthaler was called for the hook.

With their second man advantage on the night, the Rangers continued to see some chances but were unable to find an answer to New Jersey’s strong penalty kill. In the final seconds, when the second unit took the ice, it was the kids who really attacked the net and created the greater chances to score. I wonder when the coaching staff will consider starting a power play with that second unit to shake things up.

About seven minutes into the second, the Rangers were forced to take their first penalty of the night when Reilly Smith brought down Jack Hughes in front of the Devils net. The referees actually met quickly after the game was stopped to make sure it was Smith’s stick that brought down Hughes and not his own teammates, which was pretty refreshing to see. Still, the Rangers would be shorthanded.

However, they had incredible shorthanded scoring chances as Chris Kreider found himself on a rare shorthanded 2-on-0 with Sam Carrick. Unfortunately, when Kreider fired a quick shot, he missed the puck and only managed to get a second-chance backhander into the net. At what point can one assume that this team is cursed?

To make matters worse, Adam Fox was called for a stick violation to give the Devils a brief 5-on-3 advantage. Of course, just as Smith’s first penalty was about to expire, Hamilton hit a one-timer from the point that sailed right past Shesterkin to make the game 3-0 and keep New Jersey on the power play for over a minute in the half. The Rangers would hold them off for the time being, but with seven and a half to go it was Jack Hughes who capitalized on a rebound to make the score 4-0. No life from this Rangers team.

Not long after Jonathan Kovacevic scored the fourth goal, he sent the puck over the glass, sending the Rangers to the power play for the third time tonight. Eventually the top unit found a way to break through. After winning a faceoff in the offensive zone, Kreider deflected a shot from the point to Mika Zibanejad. The puck would land back on Kreider’s stick as he had a wide open net to shoot at to get his team up the court. 4-1 game with a high mountain to climb.

Zac Jones continued to do himself no favors and was sent off for delay of game, sending the Devils back to the power play. The Rangers came so close to a shorthanded goal that Zibanejad, all alone, made a beautiful backhand move against Markstrom after the Devils goaltender turned the puck over. Unfortunately, Markstrom made a huge save to keep the puck away.

The Rangers converted the rest of the penalty and played a 4-on-4 game with two minutes left before eventually finding themselves outnumbered at 4-on-3. Justin Dowling was called for tripping and, in a somewhat egregious decision, Will Cuylle was called for embellishment. Very early in this 4-on-4, Kreider had to step in for a late goal on Jack Hughes and it wouldn’t take long for Hughes to convert for his second goal of the night, making the Devils 5-1.

After forty minutes of play, the Rangers were down 31-25 against the Devils, but this game was as close to rock bottom as you can imagine. The Devils were in charge on the Rangers’ ice and no one seemed to care. No urgency, no visible frustration, no life.

3rd period:

If you did yourself the favor of stopping watching after the second second, you really didn’t miss much. A late penalty to Erik Haula gave the Rangers a power play early in the third period, but it didn’t amount to much. After registering a shot on goal from a pass, the Rangers failed to find the back of the net for the first five minutes of the half. The Rangers spent the rest of the game throwing half-hearted shots into the net while the Devils swatted away every chance that came their way. The most famous building in the world may have been the quietest building in Manhattan.

The final shots on goal score was 40-27 in favor of the Rangers, but this game couldn’t have been any less close. With the Blueshirts having three full days off before playing again, there will be a lot of uncertainty and unrest as the questions pile up and the answers become harder to find.