Rangers squander throwback performance from Jonathan Quick in defeat to Red Wings

Quick Shines But Rangers Fall to Red Wings

At 39, Jonathan Quick is proving he still has what it takes, showcasing his skills like he’s in Conn Smythe mode.

Though, honestly, I wish his offensive edge was a bit sharper.

In a tough matchup where the Rangers were outshot 42-19, Quick’s efforts kept the team competitive, allowing them some chances to avoid a rough defeat at home. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sufficient, as the Rangers ended up losing 2-1 to the Red Wings at Madison Square Garden, which halted their three-game winning streak.

The victory for Detroit came via Lucas Raymond, who netted the game-winner with a wraparound reminiscent of old-school NHL gameplay with just under four minutes left.

The Rangers, now holding a record of 10-8-2 and struggling at home with 1-7-1 this season, will be heading west for a three-game stretch starting Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Wanting to keep their home winning streak alive, the Rangers returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time in a week, where they had a dominant 6-0 victory over struggling Nashville, finally securing their first home win of the season.

It’s been, well, a rocky road for the team, which has had a historically poor start at home. They made headlines after losing five of their initial seven games by shutout for the first time since 1928. In this match, they found some momentum in the first period but took more than six minutes before firing their first shot on goal, and managed just one more over the next six minutes.

Despite facing a Detroit team ranked low in goals against average and save percentage, the Rangers had a power play late in the first period. They didn’t truly challenge former netminder Cam Talbot, aside from a significant chance from Connor Sheary early in the second.

Quick’s performance was notable; he saved 40 shots, an impressive feat for his first home start in over a month. He had previously excelled with a 3-1 record, a 1.26 GAA, and a .950 save percentage, stopping 32 of 33 shots in earlier play against Detroit.

Throughout the game, Quick managed to keep a clean slate midway through the second, even as the team faced double the shots (21-10). But eventually, a shot from Raymond slipped through his pads and into the path of Alex DeBrincat.

Rangers got a break with a delay of game penalty shortly after. Quick made a significant stop against JT Compher, energizing the crowd as Mika Zibanejad stormed in from the left wing to convert a rebound from Artemi Panarin, marking his seventh point this season.

Detroit received another power play 13:21 into the third, following a tripping penalty against Will Quill. They piled on the scoring opportunities, yet Quick was relentless.

With just two seconds remaining on a penalty kill, Noah Laba was called for slashing, leading to Patrick Kane hitting Quick’s pad, then the post. After that, Dylan Larkin had a solid chance right in front of Quick but got denied.