Recap: Rangers Run Out of Gas, Fall to Detroit 2-1

Back on home ice after their shootout win in Columbus last night, the New York Rangers hosted the Detroit Red Wings for their second meeting of the season. It was a battle of the centennials as both teams were sporting their 100 year anniversary sweaters with the Rangers celebrating their Original Six Era. There wouldn’t be any pregame ceremony but there was a touching moment of silence to pay respect to Larry Brooks. 

A couple of notable changes to the lineup. First and foremost, Mike Sullivan was not behind the bench for what was cited as personal reasons. Scott Morrow, who was called up this morning, made his NYR debut on the third pair alongside Matthew Robertson. With Gabe Perreault back in Hartford, Will Cuylle moved up to the top line and Jonny Brodzinski re-entered the lineup on the third line. With Jonathan Quick in net, 

Lastly, stick taps to Alexis Lafrenière who was playing in his 400th career game tonight. 

First Period

Another slower start for the Rangers who were being out-shot 3-0 in the first five minutes of play. Detroit had a good chance on a partial breakaway to get on the board early but a flashy stand-up save from Quick turned the shot away. A very fitting type of save with both teams wearing their old school inspired jerseys. 

Nearing the midway point of the opening period, the Rangers were catching up to the Red Wings shot tally but were getting worked in the face-off circles, having only won one of seven total draws. Those struggles would continue throughout the period as they would only win two of 14 total face-offs in the opening twenty minutes. 

With about a minute and a half to go in the period, the Rangers finally spent an extended shift in Detroit’s end of the ice. Following a scramble in front where the Rangers were chopping at bouncing rebounds, the Red Wings took the first penalty of the game. Moritz Seider would go off for interfering with Vincent Trocheck atop the blue paint. This gave the Rangers a power play to close out the first however the best scoring chance came from former friend Andrew Copp who had a partial breakaway turned away by Quick. 

Definitely another low event period as it was quite obvious both teams were in the second half of a back to back stretch. Shots after twenty were just 9-5 in Detroit’s favor as neither side generated much offense. The Rangers would start the second with 42 seconds remaining on their power play.

Second Period

After the Rangers came up empty handed on the man advantage, the Red Wings were able to regain the offensive zone and nearly found the back of the net as Simon Edvinsson hit the post with a backhander from the slot. With lots of traffic in front, the Red Wings spent an extended shift in the Rangers end of the ice which ended with Vladislav Gavrikov taking the first penalty of the night for his team as he was sent off for tripping. 

The Red Wings had a couple of strong chances early but Quick was up to the challenge as he was off to a great start in this one. The veteran netminder came up with several key saves to help keep his team in it. Lots of credit to Quick as the Rangers were successful in killing off their first penalty of the night.

Not long afterwards, the Rangers were back to the kill as Noah Laba was called for hooking Patrick Kane. Quick’s stellar goaltending wouldn’t be enough to bail them out a second time around as Lucas Raymond’s shot from the point would trickle in to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead nearing the midway mark of the outing. The goal however would belong to Alex DeBrincat who got the final touch on it. 

With just under ten minutes to go, the Rangers caught a break and were back to the power play as Seider sent the puck over the glass and into the crowd. It took nearly the entire man advantage, but the Rangers were finally able to find the back of the net. A shot from Artemi Panarin at the point set up a perfect rebound for Mika Zibanejad to tie the game up 1-1. 

It was turning into a very penalty filled period as the Rangers were called for another penalty shortly after tying the game. However, this was an absolutely atrocious call by the officials as J.T. Compher was completely hooking Sam Carrick yet somehow the call was Carrick for holding the stick. No harm associated with the weak foul as Zibanejad had the best scoring chance in that two minutes stretch on a breakaway where he opted to let a quick shot go. Here’s a look at that penalty:

The Rangers again, were able to kill off the penalty as things slowed down for the remainder of the period. After two periods of play, the Rangers were able to knot things up at one despite still being out-shot significantly now 28-16. 

Third Period

This game was feeling eerily similar to last night's outing with an added layer of tiredness to it given the nature of the back to back with travel. Lots of sloppy passes and giveaways from the Rangers that were becoming more and more noticeable as the night went on. Frankly, Jonathan Quick was likely the only reason this game continued to be close.

Seven minutes into the third, the Rangers took their fourth penalty of the night as Will Cuylle was called for tripping. Once again, Detroit peppered Quick who was playing his heart out to keep his team in it. The Rangers nearly came out of the disadvantage unscathed but with two seconds to go, Laba earned his second penalty of the night, giving the Red Wings another two minutes with the man advantage.

If it wasn't already evident, Quick was without question the Rangers best player tonight. He absolutely stood on his head and got some help from the post to keep the Red Wings off the board. Laba and the Rangers could once again credit Quick for coming out of another penalty kill without giving up a goal as the Red Wings were out-shooting the Rangers 9-1 through 12-1 through the first twelve minutes of the third period. 37 saves for Quick up to that point.

With less than four minutes to go, a brutal sequence resulted in the Rangers giving up the puck at the blue line which sent Lucas Raymond on a rush the other way. Carson Soucy was caught pretty flat footed against a speedy Raymond who took the puck around the net which caused Quick to trip up as Soucy practically froze at the top of the crease, leaving a wide open net for Raymond to shoot at. 2-1 Detroit with not a lot of time left.

With close to two minutes to go, the Rangers pulled Quick for the extra attacker in attempts to get back in this one. It wasn't long before Panarin unintentionally iced the puck, bringing Quick right back out there. By the time the Rangers regained and maintained the zone, time was rapidly running out. They would run out of chances as Detroit cleared the zone again and time expired.

However as that final horn sounded, Mason Appleton fired the puck into the empty net which sparked a reaction from Jonathan Quick who threw some jabs at Dylan Larkin which brought all 40 skaters from either side to the ice. Not much of a brawl but certainly reminiscent of old time hockey.

The Rangers would drop the second half of their back to back by a score of 2-1 despite a 40-save outing from Quick. They'll hit the road again this week as they're right back at it in Vegas Tuesday Night.