On Will Cuylle’s back, the New York Rangers walked away Saturday with their third comeback win of the week, further cementing themselves as a dog with some bite — amid some defensive liabilities.
The third period of Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets was everything the previous five periods of Rangers hockey wasn’t. They forechecked. They backchecked. They generated scoring chances.
Cuylle assisted on the game tying goal early in the third, then won the game late with his 14th goal of the season as the puck bounced to him in the slot.
Saturday’s win came 24 hours after an embarrassing second-period collapse against the Pittsburgh Penguins — less Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin — in which the Rangers failed to backcheck and capitalize on two late power plays.
Heading into the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Rangers are within striking distance of a playoff spot. They’re also a few games away from being out of the race. Every game matters. Here are three takeaways from the club’s weekend back-to-back.
Will Cuylle plays hero
The Rangers peppered Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins with 17 shots in the third period, which they entered trailing 3–2 — the same score they trailed by on Friday. The difference on Saturday was their execution.
Just under two minutes into the frame, a Merzlikins clearing attempt hit Vincent Trocheck along the boards. Cuylle, following the play, curled back along the half wall and took the loose puck. As the Blue Jackets’ Cole Sillinger pressured Cuylle from behind, he recognized the space in the high slot and moved toward the middle of the ice.
When Cuylle reached the other side of the ice, Sillinger peeled off to block the shooting lane, briefly creating a triple screen in which three Blue Jackets — Sillinger, Luca Del Bel Belluz and Jack Johnson — all obstructed Merzlikins’ view. Cuylle wisely threw the puck on net, where Urho Vaakanainen tipped it in for his first goal of the season.
Cuylle’s ability to read and react to the play created this scoring chance. He was in the right position to pick the puck up along the boards, then took a smart shot through a screen that Merzlikins was late to react to.
His quick reactions also resulted in the game-winning goal, which came with 1:39 to play.
As Columbus defenseman Denton Mateychuk retrieved the puck in his own zone, his cross-ice pass was slightly deflected by Trocheck, the Rangers’ primary forward in on the forecheck. Cuylle, the secondary forward, stayed high and began to curl back.
As the puck took a sharp bounce off the boards, Cuylle correctly anticipated that it would bounce back into the middle. Already skating at full speed, he quickly turned back and beat all three Blue Jackets within striking distance — Mateychuk, Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli — to the puck. Johnson was stationary along the boards, giving Cuylle an easy speed advantage, while Fantilli trailed Cuylle and was a split second too late to react.
Cuylle quickly snapped the puck past Merzlikins’ blocker, giving the goaltender little time to get set.
Peter Laviolette’s frustration
The Rangers’ coach was rightfully upset ion Friday night. He offered answers of few words, but in doing so made his stance loud and clear.
“No,” he said, shaking his head when he was asked if his team’s effort in the first two periods offset the third.
“It was,” he said in response to a question about whether the loss was due to a lack of intensity.
“Yes,” he said, on whether it was surprising to see his team play like they did.
The Rangers’ egregious second-period backchecking sunk them on Friday. On Pittsburgh’s second goal, the Penguins forwards moved the puck up the ice, pressured in front by the Rangers’ defensemen, and behind by forwards J.T. Miller and Alexis Lafrenière.
Lafrenière, who was positioned in the middle, was tasked with picking up Rickard Rakell as the Penguins attacked. Lafrenière tracked him well as the play moved through the neutral zone.
For whatever reason, when Rakell passed the puck outside to Bryan Rust, Lafrenière stopped skating, while Rakell took a few hard strides to create space. Recognizing that Rakell was now wide open, Rust found him with a cross-seam pass.
“We needed to pick up on the backcheck and we didn’t,” said Laviolette — the longest of the five answers he provided post-game.
Such a lack of effort is understandably infuriating for a coach. And Lafrenière’s lazy backcheck wasn’t the only low percentage play that cost the Rangers.
On the Penguins’ first goal, Matt Rempe attempted to make a full cross-ice pass as the Rangers moved through the neutral zone. Standing in between Rempe and the intended recipient, Jimmy Vesey, was Erik Karlsson. Karlsson easily picked off Rempe’s pass. The Penguins’ Noel Acciari and Blake Lizotte then attacked on a two-on-four, which Lizotte finished in large part because the Rangers stood around and did nothing.
Zac Jones took the body and angled Acciari into the boards, but Acciari still made a pass to a streaking Lizotte coming down the middle. Braden Schneider, positioned in front of Igor Shesterkin, was too deep and flat footed, while Sam Carrick was too slow to pick him up. Lizotte beat Shesterkin under the blocker.
All in all, a colossal failure.
Where the Rangers stand in the playoff race
The Rangers have jumped to fifth place in the Eastern Conference Wild Card, with 58 points in 55 games. They trail the Blue Jackets and the Boston Bruins, who both have 60 points, but have also both played at least one more game than the Rangers.
The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings currently occupy the final two playoff spots in the east. They have 62 and 61 points, respectively. Ottawa has played 56 games, and Detroit has played 55.
Of the teams chasing the Eastern Conference Wild Card spots, only the Montreal Canadiens are in action Sunday — the league’s final day of action before the 4 Nations Face-Off hiatus.
Three points separate the Rangers from the Philadelphia Flyers, who are second-last in the conference and have played two more games than New York. The standings are a good reminder that no matter how far the Rangers have come, every game counts.
