This season, special teams have not exactly been the Rangers’ strong suit; in fact, it’s starting to become a real liability.
In a 4-1 loss to the Ducks at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers let goals slip through on both power plays and penalties, making it tough to watch. With Chris Kreider—who was known for his power-play prowess—playing for the Ducks, it felt like a stark reminder of what the Rangers are missing.
Head coach Mike Sullivan has been trying to fight this slump by pushing five forwards onto the power play, yet it hasn’t made much difference. I mean, it’s frustrating. They were missing Mika Zibanejad, who was benched for missing a team meeting. Still, they went 0-for-4 on power plays during the game, which is just disappointing. They even had a chance with a 5-on-3 advantage but allowed a goal instead.
The decisive goal by Anaheim came at 5:51 in the third period, courtesy of Cutter Gauthier, who made the most of the Ducks’ power play.
Since Adam Fox went down with a shoulder injury, the Rangers have struggled massively on power plays—managing just two shots on 17 attempts and conceding two short-handed goals. Not great, right? Before Monday’s match, they ranked 14th in the NHL with a 20.3% success rate on power plays.
In an attempt to shake things up, Sullivan repositioned Zibanejad as a more defensive option, but his absence seemed to make everything even worse.
When Matt Rempe came back to the squad, taking over the net-front role as part of the second unit on the power play, it didn’t really make a significant difference.
The core issue of the game revolved around special teams. The Rangers had a golden opportunity to make it 5-on-3 for 22 seconds in the second period due to a hook on Mikael Granlund and a bench minor for too many men on the Ducks’ side. You’d expect them to capitalize on that moment, right? But they didn’t, and even surrendered the lead instead.
Former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba made his return to MSG, setting up a short-handed breakaway with a well-placed pass to Ryan Poehling. Although Igor Shesterkin initially stopped the shot, Jackson Lacombe managed to swat the puck away just before it crossed the goal line. It was a tense moment.
On a more positive note, the home team did find a way to respond at the end of the second period. Matthew Robertson’s slap shot from the top of the zone took an unexpected bounce past Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal. Vincent Trocheck made an effort to hit the puck, but the referee thought he had high-sticked it and waved it off initially. Eventually, it was clear the puck actually hit Dostal’s stick, allowing Robertson to score the tying goal.
