The New York Rangers escaped Carolina with one point, but couldn’t come away with the win, losing 3-2 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
Early on in the contest, the Rangers were rewarded with a power play, and Mike Sullivan made two crucial adjustments to the first power-play unit, with Vladislav Gavrikov replacing Scott Morrow and Alexis Lafrenière replacing Will Cuylle.
Sullivan’s changes paid off, as Gavrikov scored his first career power-play goal.
“It was a few things. We think he's played extremely well,” Sullivan said of putting Gavrikov on the first power-play unit. “We like the left-handed shot up there with some of the looks that we were trying to present tonight for a potential onetimer. For example, the goal he scored to have a lefty there when Bread plays his offside, I think is beneficial.”
Sullivan also opted to make a switch to his defensive pairings, elevating Matthew Robertson to a top-four role paired alongside Will Borgen.
Robertson recorded a total of 20:29 minutes on the night, just the third time in his NHL career that he’s played over 20 minutes.
Borgen’s usual defensive partner, Carson Soucy, posted just 16:25 minutes. Sullivan explained that he was moving players around based on performance, showing he’s building more trust in Robertson.
The Rangers put themselves in a sticky situation late in the first period, being forced to kill off a 5-on-3 power play, which led to a Sebastian Aho power-play goal to tie the game 1-1.
Despite generating some high-quality scoring chances 5-on-5 and a goal from Jonny Brodzinski in the second period, the Blueshirts were outshot 34-19 while the Hurricanes dominated time of possession.
Holding a 2-1 lead heading into the third period, New York allowed Carolina to dictate the pace of play, and eventually, they were unable to fend off the aggressive Hurricanes, failing to hold their narrow lead.
It was glaringly evident watching this game that the Rangers just don’t have the offensive firepower compared to a team like the Hurricanes, especially without Adam Fox and J.T. Miller.
“I think we got to be more willing to generate offense in tougher ways, just getting pucks to the net, getting guys to the net,” Trocheck said. “You got to be willing to go to those areas against teams like that.”
Once again in overtime, the Rangers found themselves on the penalty kill, resulting in the game-winning goal from Jackson Blake.
“I thought, the difference in the game, we give up a 5-on-3 and a 4-on-3,” Sullivan said. “You can't put yourself down in those circumstances. That puts us all in tough spots.”
We are officially at the midpoint of the season, and it has been a rollercoaster ride for the Rangers, filled with highs and lows, hence their 19-17-5 record.
“I think it's been a mixed bag,” Sullivan said of the Rangers’ performance through the first half of the season. “I think we're right in the thick of it. I think we're capable of being better. I think there's another level we got to push ourselves to try to get there.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon against the Washington Capitals.