WASHINGTON — Mounting losses have eroded nearly every part of the Rangers' game, even those that were once the cornerstone of their success.
Although their 5-on-5 play at Capital One Arena on Saturday was better than in previous years, the Blueshirts struggled on special teams, losing 7-4 to the Capitals, the No. 1 team in the Metropolitan Division.
The Rangers missed four power-play opportunities and gave up two points on the penalty kill, failing to build on their previous win.
This was the fifth loss in the last six games, the eighth loss in the last 10 games, and the 16th loss in the last 21 games.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 872nd goal in the win, putting the Capitals star 23 points away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time scoring record. Meanwhile, Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick was denied his 400th win.
Special teams has helped the Rangers with inconsistent 5-on-5 play in recent years, but there hasn't been a single element of the team's game that is functioning at a high level this season.
They were 0-of-4 on the power play Saturday, but 1-of-29 on the power play over the past 10 games.
The penalty kill has also contributed seven power-play goals in the past five games, including two for the Capitals.
It's not just the Rangers' power play stats, it's that their man-advantage stretch has been completely ineffective.
Despite ending up with the same number of power plays, the Capitals doubled the Rangers' shots on the man advantage (10-5).
There were problems with zone retention and a horrible backcheck by Alexis Lafreniere, who had just been promoted to the first power play unit.
That led to Mika Zibanejad retaking the position late in the game.
Just a week ago, Quandre Miller accurately pointed out that when the Rangers are losing, he already feels like they're losing the game.
But as other recent lopsided scores have shown, the Rangers didn't give up in this game.
Filip Sitil and Zibanejad scored twice in the final 20 minutes, and the Rangers came within one point twice.
But Washington never gave up, answering each of the Rangers' goals with each goal and keeping the visitors at arm's length.
Seven minutes into the game, the Rangers got a fortuitous break when Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson attempted a clearance that was deflected to the right by Chris Kreider, who hit an unattended ball from long range. He hit a shot into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Clean zone penetration and puck handling allowed the visiting team to take the lead for most of the period, but the Capitals regained momentum on some poor power plays by the Rangers.
In the Capitals' second stretch with the man advantage, the Capitals wreaked havoc around Quick after Brett Berard sat in the box and kept it, then Dylan Strome buried the rebound to make it 1-1. The game was turned around.
Quick was furious and immediately told the referee. Maybe it was traffic near the blue crease or Ovechkin getting tangled in his stick as he was heading toward the basket.
The Blueshirts have been penalized in recent games.
Outside of the 2-1 win over the Bruins, the Rangers had been penalized for at least 10 minutes in each of their past six games before Thursday, including two games in which they played more than 20 minutes in the box. .
