Rangers shut out again at MSG in loss to Carolina Hurricanes
The Rangers bench reacts during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Credit: Corey Sipkin
The NHL season is into its second month. It isn’t so early anymore. And as the Rangers continue to be unable to score goals in Madison Square Garden, their insistence that the goals would come eventually, as long as they continue to play well, is beginning to wear thin.
The Carolina Hurricanes’ Pyotr Kochetkov, making his season debut after missing the first 11 games with a lower-body injury, became the latest goaltender to come into the Garden and look like a Hall of Famer.
Kochetkov made 25 saves — including 15 in the first period, but only one in the third — to backstop the Hurricanes to a 3-0 victory Tuesday over the Rangers. It was the fourth time in six home games this season that the Rangers have been shut out, and they remain winless at home.
The Rangers were left searching for answers afterward.
“For most of the games we played here . . . I think we’ve been the better team for a lot of games — especially the ones we haven’t scored,’’ defenseman Adam Fox said. “I think it’s just a long season. I think it could be just coincidence early that we’re not scoring. But obviously, we want to protect home ice a little better, and win some games here.’’
“I mean, it’s frustrating,’’ said forward Mika Zibanejad. “No one wants to win at home more than we do right now . . . I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of something like this before, in terms of getting looks and not scoring.’’
Nikolaj Ehlers (his first with Carolina), in the first period, and Sean Walker, in the second, had the backbreaking goals for the Hurricanes (8-4-0), who were without former Ranger defenseman K’Andre Miller and defenseman Jaccob Slavin. Seth Jarvis added an empty-net goal with 1:39 remaining.
Both Ehlers and Walker scored on shots from the outside that snaked their way through traffic to beat Igor Shesterkin (29 saves).
Rangers coach Mike Sullivan seemed to be satisfied with the Rangers’ play for the most part, especially in the first two periods when the Blueshirts dominated possession and spent most of the game in the offensive zone. But if there was one thing Sullivan said that he could point to as being the difference, it was in the play in front of the net.
Both the Carolina goals were scored on shots from the perimeter that went through traffic in front, where Shesterkin didn’t get a good look at the puck. The Rangers didn’t do a good enough job generating that same kind of traffic in front of Kochetkov, Sullivan said.
“I think we could have done a better job offensively and fighting for the blue paint, making the sight lines difficult, getting some sticks on pucks,’’ Sullivan said. “When you look at the nature of the goals that were scored against us, you know, power play goal. That’s a wrist shot from the perimeter, and a sifter from the blue line off a face off with people at the net.
“When you look around the league and you watch how goals are scored around the league, there’s a fair amount of goals that are being scored with that type of a net presence . . . And I thought that was the difference in the game.’’
The Rangers’ power play seemed particularly futile in going 0-for-3. It moved the puck well and got off some good shots and had some good chances in their first two opportunities, but when they failed to score, the group seemed to sag. The third power play produced little — the Rangers have now gone 0-for-12 over the last five games, and 1-for-17 over the last seven. The extra-man unit is 4-for-36 (11.1%) on the season, second-worst in the NHL.
“I don’t know. I don’t know,’’ Zibanejad said when asked about the power play. “Honestly. We keep talking about having ‘good looks.’ We keep talking about the stuff that we do well, and try to build on it. I think we, I mean, I feel like we had three or four, maybe five Grade A [scoring chances]. We don’t score.
“The puck’s just got to go in . . . We have to find a way to put the puck in the net.’’
Notes & quotes: D Urho Vaakanainen (lower-body injury) did not play. He was replaced by Matthew Robertson . . . F Jaroslav Chmelar, called up Sunday from Hartford, was scratched, as was D Connor Mackey, who was called up from Hartford on Monday.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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