Rangers Vs. Jets Recap: Rangers Fall To Jets 1-0 In The Shootout
Down two defensemen for the final two periods, the New York Rangers were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets 1-0 in the shootout.
The New York Rangers were defeated 1-0 tonight by the Winnipeg Jets, but their biggest loss came early on in the first period. First it was Kevin Klein who left the game after blocking a shot, then it was Ryan McDonagh who had to be helped off the ice after slamming shoulder-first into the boards. It was noted during the broadcast that McDonagh had a separated shoulder, while Klein walked away on the lucky side with a minor foot contusion.
McDonagh wound up injuring the same left shoulder as he did last season when Alex Burrows hit him up high late in the season. There wasn't any timetable released for McDonagh, as he is scheduled to be evaluated further at some point tomorrow afternoon. My guess though, is that he will probably be out of commission for at least a few weeks, which only makes the Rangers even more desperate for defensemen.
During the first intermission, Ellotte Friedman also tweeted that the Rangers have showed some interest in Andrej Sekera of the Carolina Hurricanes. With their recent string of injuries, and Dan Boyle still being about a week or two away, this news isn't all that surprising. It's still way too early to press the panic button, so we'll see how all of this plays out over the next several days.
Oh yeah, and about the recap? This game was very dry in terms of scoring, and needed to be settled in the shootout. The Rangers actually controlled a majority of the play in the early going, but you could clearly tell the fatigue started to set in on the back end late in the third period. Ondrej Pavelec played out of his mind tonight, as the Rangers went scoreless on 38 of their shots on net.
Mats Zuccarello scored the only goal for the Rangers in the shootout, while Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane both scored for the Winnipeg Jets. Given the circumstances of tonight's game, coming away with at least one point while only icing four defensemen is something you tuck into your back pocket, and walk away with. It would have been nice to come away with the extra point, but one point is a nice consolation prize. You also can't fault the Rangers effort tonight, as they were firing on all cylinders, but couldn't beat a hot goaltender in Pavelec.
The Rangers will have an off day tomorrow, before they return to host the St. Louis Blues on Monday evening at Madison Square Garden.
