The Rangers’ self-praise is starting to ring hollow.
Just two days after falling short in overtime to the Bruins, the Rangers came out on the wrong end of a black-and-blue matchup against the same surging Boston team, who extended their point streak to 10 games with a 1-0 victory at the Garden on Friday night.
Without the scoring prowess of their top producer, Artemi Panarin, who was ruled out with a lower-body injury he sustained Wednesday, the Blueshirts lost a third straight game and for the fourth time in their past six.
It was the third time the Rangers have been shut out this season, and the second time in their past three games.
The Rangers have continued to highlight how close the games have been, how many positives there are to take away and that they are just a couple of passes away from piecing it all together.
But the fact is this: The shortened 2020-21 season is nearly a quarter of the way over.
“These games are going to be so valuable for young players moving forward and you can learn an awful lot from a team like that,” head coach David Quinn said following the loss, which dropped his Rangers to 4-6-3. “You got to pay attention to teams that have had sustained success for as long as they have. We’re trying to get to the level that the [Patrice] Bergerons, the [Brad] Marchands, and the [David] Pastrnaks, guys like that.”
Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask had given the Blueshirts fits Wednesday night, and former Islander Jaroslav Halak did the same Friday with a 21-save performance. Boston has lost in regulation just once this season, on Jan. 18 against the Islanders, and is arguably one of the most well-rounded teams in the entire league.
The Rangers, however, proved they could skate alongside this physical Bruins squad when they forced overtime in their Wednesday meeting. But the offensive grit, smart decisions and level-headed play just weren’t there this time around.
Jacob Trouba took a careless holding penalty less than two minutes into the third period. A two-on-one rush with Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere was easily broken up before either could get a shot off. And when the Rangers were gifted a power play in the final minute of the game for a six-on-four advantage, they lost the faceoff and allowed the Bruins to run out the clock.
“We’ve been saying this for a while now, it’s not good enough to lose games by a goal,” Trouba said. “You’ve got to win games, you’ve got to find a way to get points and especially in the shortened season we’ve got to find a way to win hockey games. Let’s move on.”
Following a scoreless first period, old-time hockey made its way into 2021. The teams combined for 13 penalties in the middle frame, with 36 total minutes served for either fighting or roughing.
The Rangers may have landed their punches, but they allowed the Bruins to take jabs where it mattered: On the score sheet. Nick Ritchie broke the scoring drought at 9:13 after stuffing the puck past goalie Igor Shesterkin, while Boston outshot the Rangers 13-10 in the second.
“I definitely think they controlled that second period, I think the shots show you that,” Trouba said. “There’s a little bit of a different intensity to a game like that, especially when all that’s going on we’ve got to find a way to raise our level of intensity and match that and find a way to tilt the ice in our direction.”
