A Bad Misplay of the Puck, Puts the Rangers behind all game long at the Islanders

A fumbled puck leads to a loss

Elmont, NY- The New York Rangers restarted their season after the Christmas break to face their rivals out in Long Island as they traveled to Belmont Park to face the New York Islanders. After a sixty-minute game, the Rangers once again coughed up a single goal and couldn’t get any as they were shut out by the backup goalie with an injured Ilya Sorokin by a final score of two to nothing.

Bad puck possession behind the net.

The Rangers got off to a bad start as they coughed up the puck and allowed the Islanders to take several whacks to take the lead inside the opening minute of the first period. Carson Soucy had the puck behind his net, and when he tried to skate out with it, he fumbled the puck near Igor Shesterkin. That’s when Anders Lee stole the puck, took two whacks at Shesterkin, and it fluttered over the pads and into the net at 58 seconds of the first period.

Tied game? Not by review

The Rangers were given their first power play attempt as they were looking to tie the game. After the Islanders cleared the puck out, the Rangers stopped them from skating past the red line at center ice. Started to go on a four-on-two rush, when Mika Zibanejad gave the puck to Will Cuylle coming down the far side, and it appeared he scored to tie the game.

But on the replay, Cuylle’s shot his the inside of the near post and out, never completely crossing the goal line. The referees reviewed the situation, and they announced that the goal didn’t count. The look of frustration on Cuylle’s face explained it all. The Rangers should’ve tied the game, but unfortunately didn’t.

Penalty Shot to Soucy

The Rangers were killing off a penalty for the Islanders, as they skated inside the Islanders’ zone to prepare for a short-handed goal. Soucy skated in all alone and cut inside the slot. He was slightly slashed with the puck, and the referee called for a penalty shot. He took the puck at center ice, skated inside the far faceoff circle, but was denied by the glove of David Rittich.

Empty net and done

The Rangers had one more power play to attempt to tie the game. The Islanders were able to kill it off, and the Rangers pulled Shesterkin for the extra attacker. But unfortunately, it didn’t go to plan as Simon Holmstrom got the puck and cleared it all the way down into the Rangers’ empty net at 19:43, giving them a loss.

Bad bounces go against the Rangers

While the Rangers didn’t have a good start in the opening period, they worked their way back into the game and had multiple chances to tie the game. Unfortunately, they couldn’t solve Rittich, and they paid the price for not putting away any of their chances. Artemi Panarin had two-to-three solid opportunities to bury the puck, but unfortunately, Rittich stopped him on all occasions.

“You know, I thought… I thought they got momentum from the first shift, the drop of the puck. You know, they were quicker to pucks. They were harder to run pucks. The more you know, after the first eight or nine minutes, I felt like we were, you know, we started to play and, you know, from there on in, I thought we were fine.

We had a couple of two-on-ones, a breakaway. Um… There were some plays in the offensive zone where I thought we had two on the inside. We delivered some pucks from the blue line. There was some opportunity there. Um… You know, is there ever enough offense? Yeah. You know, probably not. We always wish and long for more. You know, we didn’t finish on the ones obviously that we had tonight,” said head coach Mike Sullivan

The Rangers will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face the Hurricanes on Monday, December 29th, while they return to our nation’s capital to face the Washington Capitals for a Wednesday afternoon matchup before the ball drops for New Year’s Eve.

New York Rangers News:

• Big Third Period Comeback Victory for the Rangers at the Capitals
• Rangers Fall to the Predators in Music City
• Rangers Outlast the Flyers in the Shootout

“Game Day. Done Right.”

When the Rangers hit the ice and celebrate their 100th Anniversary, you need a beer that matches your passion. Michelob Ultra – the superior light beer for superior fans. Low carbs, full flavor, pure game night energy.

Michelob Ultra. It’s Only Worth It.

Subscribe to our Premium Newsletter for insider analysis, locker room insights, and early access to our upcoming podcast featuring the voices that matter most in New York Sports.