HOLIDAY SPIRIT
Rangers seek to enter Christmas break on high note
There is undoubtedly a sour taste in the mouths of the Rangers, and they want it gone by the time they head home to their families for the three-day Christmas break.
That leaves a Garden match Saturday against the Maple Leafs as the remaining chance for redemption, an opportunity to forget the horrid turnovers that resulted in a 4-3 shootout loss Thursday to the Devils in Newark, a point in the standings that was earned almost solely through the excellence of goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
“We’re all pretty upset with the result after [Thursday] night,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said after practice Friday. “Happy that Hank got us a point, but I think we all feel that we have something to redeem ourselves for.”
For one, Shattenkirk sat for the final 7:28 of regulation in a what was a tie game. He was one of a handful of players who struggled to make good decisions with the puck through the game, when the Blueshirts gave up 48 shots, the eighth time in the past 15 games they have given up 40-plus.
It also doesn’t help that the team announced Friday one of its best defensive forwards, Jesper Fast, is going to be out two-tothree weeks with a quadriceps strain.
But the Rangers need a team effort if they want to put the loss to the Devils behind them and feel good about their own play going into the short hiatus.
“You obviously want to go into it with a win and feeling good about your game,” Marc Staal said. “We’ve had quite a few hockey games here lately, and I think it’s important more than anything to respond the right way as a team and come out ready to rock.”
The Maple Leafs present quite a challenge, and it’s possible superstar second-year forward Auston Matthews will be ready to return after missing the previous six games with what he recently admitted was concussion symptoms. The Leafs still have managed to put themselves in second place in the Atlantic Division, and play a very similar game to the Devils in that they’re fast and skilled without losing a physical edge.
And that should almost make it easier for the Rangers to prepare, knowing full well if they turn it over with regularity, Toronto is going to make them pay.
“The Leafs are obviously highly skilled, don’t give you a lot of room, always on top of their checks,” Staal said. “So what you do with the puck is really important. Just have to compete, win battles on the wall, all those things that allow you to have the puck, play in their end, and get scoring chances yourself.”
The Rangers have done their fair share of responding thus far in the season, especially at home, where they are 14-5-3. They have played the fewest road games in the league, going 5-7-1, but right now they’re just trying to right the ship in the place where they are most comfortable.
“It’s a matter of going on the road and getting our game,” Shattenkirk said.
Going on the road in January and February might be good for these Rangers, who repeatedly have said when things go haywire, they want to simplify their game. There are also quite a few distractions at this point, including the omnipresent cameras that are filming them in the lead-up to the Winter Classic, outdoors at Citi Field on New Year’s Day.
But now the immediate focus is on Toronto and playing a much better game to push away the thoughts about what happened in Newark. Because, as Staal said, a good performance just before this break “always makes for a nicer Christmas.”