NEW YORK ‒ This one will sting for a bit.
The Rangers had a lead with less than 10 minutes to play against the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals and let it slip through their fingers.
The resulting 3-2 overtime loss on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden prevented their first three-game winning streak since mid-November.
Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal with 9:32 remaining to move within 10 of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record, then Tom Wilson finished it off with 52 seconds remaining in OT.
“Guys are disappointed,” center Vincent Trocheck said. “But I think there’s a lot of good things to take from that game.”
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The Rangers (31-26-5) had won four of their previous five but haven’t beaten a team in playoff position since their 4-3 win in Columbus on Feb. 8.
They’re gaining ground, both in the playoff race and in terms of play style, but the Caps’ blend of skill and strength can wear you down over the course of 60-plus minutes. Washington outshot New York in the third period by a 9-3 margin and has now won all three head-to-head meetings this season, with this latest installment much closer than the previous two.
“It was a couple months ago we played them, and we’re at that point of the season,” veteran Mika Zibanejad said. “The way we’ve been responding, honestly since the new year, has kind of been building and building. I think we’re getting closer to the way we want to play, and obviously getting some results here at the end. But I think we keep getting better, and that’s a good thing for us. We’re going to need every point that we can get.”
The OT loss, coupled with the Senators’ 4-3 win over the Blackhawks, leaves the Rangers in a tie for the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot, although they trail the Sens based on points percentage. It just so happens the two playoff hopefuls will meet in Ottawa for a Saturday matinee that will have major ramifications on the standings.
Trade deadline up next
Before that happens, there’s business to be done. The NHL’s trade deadline is approaching Friday at 3 p.m., with the Rangers waiting to see what team president Chris Drury does next.
It’s a foregone conclusion he’ll offload veteran forward Reilly Smith, who’s missed three straight games for “roster management purposes.” He’s the final of New York’s pending UFAs who’s yet to be dealt, with Drury determined to get what he can for players who don’t factor into his future plans. But given the team’s rally following a dismal December, the front-office boss may also be looking for ways to aid the cause.
He’s hunting for a left-handed defenseman who can eat heavy minutes in a top-four role, according to multiple league sources, but prefers it to be a player with multiple years left on their contract. We’ll see if he can uncover one − or any other non-rental addition − in the next day and a half.
Jones, Carrick make key plays
The player who may be most at risk of losing ice time if the Rangers acquire a new defenseman is Zac Jones, who had some highs on Wednesday but also took a critical hooking penalty that led to Ovechkin’s tying goal.
The Blueshirts fell into an early hole, allowing Pierre-Luc Dubios to skate free at the far post on a broken faceoff play 1:04 into the game. It was the league-worst 12th time they’ve surrendered a goal in the opening two minutes, but Jones fueled a response.
The 24-year-old made a critical play to tie the score, intercepting a pass from Connor McMichael to start the rush going the other way. He eventually finished the play with a feed to Artemi Panarin, who redirected it past Caps goalie Charlie Lindgren from the slot for his team-leading 26th goal.
That made it 1-1 with 6:23 remaining in the first period, with Sam Carrick putting the Rangers on top in the second.
The fourth-line center reeled in a stretch pass from K’Andre Miller, deked around Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun (with the help of a Matt Rempe screen) and finished with a pretty backhand to give the Blueshirts a 2-1 lead at the 8:05 mark.
Carrick would add a fight later, dropping the gloves with Brandon Duhaime, and finish an assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick.
“I wasn’t thrilled with how things were going,” Carrick said regarding the timing of the fight. “They had some momentum. I figured that was probably a pretty good time to just try to spark the boys. The whole team answered really well after.”
Fourth-line impact
Carrick’s line with a pair of energetic rookies, Rempe and Brett Berard, were used steadily throughout the game, evidence of head coach Peter Laviolette’s growing trust in them.
They produced a key goal and allowed only one shot against in 7:37 time on ice together, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“They took some matchups,” Laviolette said. “That line can be effective and hard to play against.”
Their aggressive forecheck and general physicality are well-suited for a heavy opponent like the Capitals, with Carrick leading the charge.
It was a bit of a surprise to see the Rangers extend a three-year contract to the 33-year-old over the summer, but he’s fit like a glove in his grinding role and earned the admiration of his teammates for it.
“I can’t say enough about Sam Carrick – the way he sticks up for his teammates, the way he’s able to possess the puck, his patience – there’s so many things that he brings to the game,” Trocheck said. “Defensively, he’s really smart. Just an all-around great player and he’s brought a whole other element to that fourth line.”
A shaky power play
While the fourth line stood out, and the Panarin-Trocheck-Alexis Lafrenière trio had another strong showing with six high-danger scoring chances without allowing any, the line that’s been the Rangers’ best in recent weeks went relatively quiet.
It was an off night for Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller and Zibanejad, who were on ice for Dubois’ goal that got Washington going and were limited to two shots on goal of their own.
But the biggest letdown was a power play that hasn’t looked great without Adam Fox and Chris Kreider, both of whom remain on injured reserve. The Rangers went 0-for-4 on Wednesday with only three shots on goal across 7:47.
“It’s been different, so we’re working through it a little bit,” Laviolette said. “But even that being said, they had point-blank chances to score and it didn’t find the back of the net.”
Sticking up for each other
Still, the Blueshirts were right there with the mighty Capitals at five-on-five, which would have been a surprising statement a few months ago.
They allowed a combined total of 12 goals in their previous two meetings with Washington, but Wednesday was a reversal of sorts. New York’s rapidly improving defense limited the Metro Division leaders to two regulation goals on 23 shots.
“We didn’t give anything up through the neutral zone,” Trocheck said. “We protected the puck when we had possession and didn’t turn pucks over at the blue line. We got pucks to the net in the O zone, we were pretty good on the forecheck – a lot of good things.”
The Rangers needed to muster more than 17 shots, but they’re handling these tight-checking games much better these days − and they’re also showing more fight, literally and figuratively.
They mostly matched the Caps’ brawn and stood up to them with much more vigor than earlier this season. Carrick was one example, with newcomer Juuso Pärssinen also dropping the gloves in just his third game with the team. He fought Matt Roy after the Washington defenseman jabbed rookie Brennan Othmann in the back of the head, with his new Rangers’ teammates showing their appreciation by skating to the penalty box to acknowledge the 24-year-old center.
There are still reasons to doubt whether the Blueshirts could handle the Caps in a seven-game playoff series — who would have thought that one year ago? — but they’re certainly closing the gap.
“Washington is one of the most physical teams in the league, and we hung right in there with them,” Carrick said. “It was great to see Pars get in there, especially for a new guy. I think that’s a great way just to build some chemistry and really bond together as a team. Obviously, this time of year, new faces and stuff. That’s what you need to come together as a team, is to stick up for each other, and Pars did a great job getting in there when he saw our guy go down.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the
New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
