Peter Laviolette didn’t appear overly concerned after the New York Rangers were once again heavily out-shot, out-chanced, and outplayed by the Ottawa Senators on Friday night. This relaxed demeanor might be due to Igor Shesterkin’s remarkable 40-save effort, which secured the Rangers a 2-1 win.
Still, Laviolette likely had some frustrations. The Rangers have struggled defensively and lacked offensive push in three of their last four games. Their 2-2-0 record in that span is largely thanks to their goaltending. Shesterkin has faced 115 shots in his last three starts, while Jonathan Quick made 32 saves in a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks last weekend.
Throughout these games, the Rangers have been on the defensive, reacting rather than setting the pace, and rarely finding an offensive rhythm. Laviolette aims to change this when they face the New York Islanders on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
“I’d like to see us control more of the game, particularly on offense,” Laviolette said postgame. “We’ve had a few recent games where we need to shift in a better direction.”
The Rangers started Friday’s game with this mindset, outshooting the Senators 9-8 in the first period and creating a 7-5 edge in scoring chances. Artemi Panarin scored his first goal in five games, putting the Rangers ahead. But they couldn’t maintain this momentum.
“I thought we started well tonight in the first period, doing the right things,” Laviolette said. “But we lost that as the game went on.”
Recent games ‘got away’ from Rangers, coach believes
Yes, the game did slip away from the Rangers. On Friday, they were heavily outshot, with shot attempts at 89-34, and were out-chanced 19-4 during five-on-five play in the last two periods, as per Natural Stat Trick. In the third period alone, the Rangers were out-shot 20-5, but Shesterkin allowed just one goal, which came after Alexis Lafreniere scored a power-play goal to give New York a 2-0 lead.
This time, they managed to hold on for the win. Previously, they suffered losses to the Florida Panthers (3-1) and the Washington Capitals (5-3), with a victory over the Ducks in between, which was their best recent performance. However, those losses against the Panthers and Capitals raised concerns, and Friday’s display didn’t exactly ease them.
Shesterkin might have felt inclined to message his agent afterward, suggesting his next contract’s average annual value should start with 14, not 12.
On a positive note, the Rangers blocked 25 shots, with four defensemen — Jacob Trouba, Braden Schneider, Ryan Lindgren, and K’Andre Miller — each blocking four.
However, the stats were troubling for the Rangers’ defense. The Schneider-Victor Mancini pair was out-chanced 16-3 at five-on-five, with an expected goals-for percentage of just 11.86 percent. Lindgren was on the ice for a 12-2 disadvantage in scoring chances.
Offensively, the top-six forwards had a rough night. Despite even-strength and power-play goals from Panarin and Lafreniere, their line with Vincent Trocheck only achieved a five-on-five expected goals-for percentage of 30.6 percent. The Mika Zibanejad line was only slightly better.
As the coach noted, they need to control possession more effectively and avoid chasing the game, starting with Sunday’s matinee against the Islanders.
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