Rangers Come Up Short Against Kings

After spending the last four years rebuilding the franchise, the New York Rangers are finally playing solid hockey again. They have struggled to score goals at times this season, but their solid defense and goaltending can keep them in any game. New York entered the week with a chance to become the top team in the NHL. All they had to do is defeat the surging Los Angeles Kings on Monday, January 10.

 No Early Offense

The Rangers and Kings are nearly identical teams. They rarely make mistakes in the defensive zone, but they also have a hard time generating scoring chances at times. These offensive issues were on full display in the first period last night. New York only generated six shots in the period despite getting two power play opportunities. Los Angeles fired twice as many shots on net, but the game remained scoreless entering the first intermission.

 Defensive Meltdown

The Rangers came out of the locker room a little lethargic, and the Kings made them paid for the lack of energy. Los Angeles opened the scoring 55 seconds into the second period when Phillip Danault scored his seventh goal of the season. The lead was extended less than three minutes later when Blake Lizotte found the back of the net for the fourth time this year. New York was lucky to escape the period only down two goals as they surrendered 18 shots while only attempting nine of their own.

 Comeback Attempt Comes Up Short

New York showed a lot more intensity early in the third period. They finally broke up the shutout when Mika Zibanejad scored his 13th goal of the year. The Rangers had a little more than eight minutes to come up an equalizer, but they just could not make it happen. Mounting a comeback is lot harder when you only get eight shots on net the entire period. A late goal by Adrian Kempe sealed the 3-1 victory for the Los Angeles Kings.

 Future Outlook

The Rangers simply need to find a way to generate more offense if they want to be serious contenders for the Stanley Cup this season. Acquiring one star forward before the trade deadline may be enough to make a difference. New York will continue their long California road trip when they take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.