Rangers Flat Start in the third losses in Anaheim

Bad breakout to start the final period did them in

Anaheim, CA- The New York Rangers traveled across the country to start their California portion of their road trip after their big victory over the Flyers. They start at the home of Disneyland, facing the Anaheim Ducks. After a strong start to the game, the Rangers started to fall a bit flat in the last period of the game, as they were beaten by a final score of five to three.

Robertson opens the scoring

The Rangers began on the front foot to start the game. It was J.T. Miller down low at the far corner who passed the puck back toward the far boards to Mika Zibanejad. He turned and made a pass to the high slot, where Matthew Robertson got the puck, took a hard shot that deflected slightly off of Jacob Trouba, and beat Dostal at 4:00 of the first period.

Tied Game

The Ducks were flying around the Rangers’ zone trying to tie the game up. They were able to keep possession of the puck, even if Spencer Martin, who got his second straight start, was able to make big saves to keep the Rangers in the game, but Pavel Mintyukov found a way to free the puck and passed it to Mason McTavish at the near side and he snapped one hard short side at 11:31 of the first period.

Panarin Power Play

After the Ducks committed a penalty during their power play, both sides went four-on-four for 1:07. Then the Rangers went on their power play as J.T. Miller sprang Vincent Trocheck with the puck and attacked the Ducks’ zone. As he skated down low toward the near side, he saw Artemi Panarin trail the play and passed it back to him. When Panarin entered the near faceoff circle, he snapped a high shot over the right shoulder of Dostal at 4:03 of the second period.

The Ducks tied and led the game

The Rangers twice failed to get the puck out of the zone. After great goaltending from Martin, that last-ditch effort failed them, and they were punished with two goals against and lost the lead. As the rangers tried to rim the puck around the near boards, Ryan Poehling stopped it and sent it toward the net. That’s where Jeffrey Viel was in front of Martin, knocking the puck down and flipping it in at 8:29 of the second period.

Then another moment of confusion as the puck was behind the net. The Rangers were trying to protect the puck, then move it out, but Jacob Trouba stole it, shot it on net that Martin slightly stopped, but it squeaked through, and Alex Killorn, who snuck in through the back door, stuffed it in at 18:02 on the power play.

Another poor breakout

Just as the third period got underway, the Rangers started slow and flat. As the puck was going around the boards, Matthew Robertson was trying to take the puck out of the zone and make a rush up ice. He was stopped by Drew Helleson at the blueline and lost the puck. Helleson found Cutter Gauthier streaking down the slot. He snapped one over Martin’s right shoulder and got the two-goal lead at 1:01 of the third period.

Gavrikov pulls one back

The Rangers earned a power play, and back to the man advantage they went. Trocheck down low at the near side gave Panarin the puck at the near boards, then he saw Valdislav Gavrikov at the far point. He made the cross-ice pass, then a one timer from Gavrikov, which knuckled toward the net, beat Dostal, and the Rangers cut the deficit at 7:11 of the third period.

Empty net and done

The Rangers had a two-man advantage for 22 seconds in the third period, but they couldn’t get anything past Dostal. When they had one minute remaining in the third period, they couldn’t set anything up as the Ducks were able to break out and find the empty net as Cutter Gauthier got his second of the game for the empty net goal at 19:24 to sweep the series.

This was a good game for the Rangers in the first two periods, with purposeful skating and hard-working shifts. However, poor attempts to clear the puck out of their zone and starting rushes up the ice cost them dearly, ultimately resulting in the loss of the full two points. They did have good power play time, but not enough in the final period of the game.

POWER PLAYERS: Artemi Panarin and Vladislav Gavrikov both notched their second power-play goals of the season. On the road, the Rangers rank second in the league this season with a 29.0 power play percentage. Since Dec. 23, they have led the league with a 37.5 power play percentage, and their 12 power play goals rank fourth.

ARTEMI PANARIN: Extended his point streak to 10-straight games (5G-13A), the second-longest active streak in the league this season, and his sixth such streak as a Ranger. His six 10-game point streaks are the second most in franchise history. With an assist on Gavrikov’s power play goal, he also extended his assist streak to 10-straight games (13A), the longest active streak in the league, the longest of his career, and tied for the second-longest in franchise history.

MIKA ZIBANEJAD: Tallied an assist on Matthew Robertson’s goal, extending his point streak to nine-straight games (9G-9A), the third-longest active streak in the league. Through his last nine games, his 18 points are the most on the Rangers and are tied for third among all NHL skaters.

J.T. MILLER: Notched his eighth multi-point game of the season and his third since returning to the ice on Jan. 8 after missing seven games due to injury. He has notched at least one point in five of his last six games (1G-7A). In that time span, his seven assists are tied for the most on the Blueshirts, and his eight points rank third.

New York Rangers News:

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• Disgraceful Performance by the Rangers at MSG against the Senators

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