After playing only one overtime and no shootouts in their first 11 games, the Rangers have twice gone the distance in their last three games. But they have only themselves to blame after wasting leads to the Bruins and the Islanders.
They gave three back against Boston, including two in the game's final 91 seconds, but still recovered to take two points in the shootout. Against the Islanders, they surrendered a two-goal advantage and lost in the shootout. Sunday's 2-1 win over the Capitals saw them recover from an early deficit in the nick of time.
The Good: Carl Hagelin continues to shine. When he's not picking up "dumb" too-many-men-on-the-ice penalties, Hagelin is scoring goals in bunches. The speedy Swede has six goals on the season, and five in the past four games, after tipping home a rebound Sunday. The Rangers dominated play against the Capitals but didn't have much to show for it until their 30th shot resulted in their first goal. Derek Stepan put them ahead with a third-period goal to give them the only lead last week they would not relinquish.
The Bad: The Rangers' breakdowns in the games against the Bruins and the Islanders are disconcerting. Under John Tortorella, the team has earned a reputation for blocking shots and proving stingy on defense. But that calling card has not come across so far this season. The Bruins are expected to be a top team this year, so that game can be explained. The Islanders, on the other hand, are not and have cooled off after a hot start. The Rangers should feel lucky they got three out of four points from those games.
The Ugly: Despite two power-play goals this week, the Rangers still rank dead last in efficiency. That still qualifies as ugly. Darroll Powe (not an easy name to spell based on how it sounds) took a rough hit and is out indefinitely with a concussion. That hurts the Rangers' other special teams unit—the penalty kill. The Rangers have killed off 16 consecutive power plays, but they'll be hard pressed to repeat that success without Powe.
Up Next: The Rangers are home tonight against the dominant Montreal Canadians, then travel to Ottawa on Thursday and Montreal for a rematch with the Canadians on Saturday.
