Peter Laviolette didn’t converse for lengthy following one of many Rangers’ worst losses of the season.
He didn’t must.
In a postgame information convention that lasted lower than a minute, following an unpleasant 3-2 dwelling loss to the Penguins, the pinnacle coach known as the group’s effort “unacceptable” and mentioned the defeat was as a consequence of an absence of depth.
Given the place the Rangers are at this level — and with their playoff hopes dwindling — it was a brutal defeat.
In any case, they had been introduced a golden alternative to higher their probabilities within the Jap Convention playoff race in opposition to a Pittsburgh group that got here to Madison Sq. Backyard with out the injured Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
The Rangers, as a substitute, delivered a dud.
“We weren’t prepared most likely the primary 40 [minutes],” Vincent Trocheck mentioned. “We outplayed them within the third by loads, however you possibly can’t wait. … It’s inexcusable. We all know the place we’re at within the standings. We all know we’d like each level. With two video games left earlier than the [4 Nations], we are able to’t have that occur.”
Laviolette clearly was livid along with his group’s effort, particularly within the first two durations, once they had been outshot and outmuscled by a Penguins group missing star energy and out of playoff competition.
The Rangers entered the third interval down by a objective, the identical predicament they discovered themselves within the earlier two video games.
However as a substitute of coming again once more and incomes their first three-game profitable streak since mid-November, the Rangers had been unable to muster one other game-tying objective, regardless of outshooting the Penguins 10-0 within the closing interval.
“For those who dig your self in a gap each third interval, you’re gonna come out on the brief finish of some,” Adam Fox mentioned. “It’s onerous to play from behind. We’ve acquired to do a greater job the primary two durations, particularly at this level, when two factors are so essential for us.”
The Rangers even had a pair of energy performs late within the third and didn’t capitalize.
In the long run, the three objectives allowed by Igor Shesterkin within the second interval had been an excessive amount of to beat, as they blew a recreation they led 2-1 early within the second after a Fox objective at 3:39.
Shoddy protection by the Rangers later within the interval resulted within the Penguins’ second objective, as Rickard Rakell scored at 9:07 off a feed from Bryan Rust.
A Will Cuylle tripping penalty led to a power-play objective by Philip Tomasino, who beat Shesterkin with a one-timer off an help from Rust to provide Pittsburgh their first lead of the sport, 3-2 at 11:59 within the second.
Trocheck had opened the scoring at 8:31 within the first interval, and Shesterkin stopped all 10 photographs that got here his means within the first, however was dinged in a scrum in entrance of the online within the latter a part of the interval.
He briefly was checked by a coach then stayed within the recreation.
Fox, when pressed in regards to the chance the Rangers might have taken the Penguins without any consideration with out their two greatest names, mentioned, “The notion can appear that means, [but] nobody in right here was pondering that with them lacking these two it was gonna be a simple night time. They’re a well-coached group, [with] good construction. It’s by no means simple enjoying in opposition to them, regardless of who’s within the lineup [or] who’s not within the lineup.”
It was one other painful loss for a Rangers group attempting to make a late run on the playoffs, with little margin for error.
“I feel our guys perceive precisely the place we’re,” Laviolette mentioned of his group earlier than the sport, with the Rangers sitting 5 factors out of the second wild-card spot within the Jap Convention.
“It doesn’t take a lot to determine it out,” Laviolette mentioned. “We’ve acquired to win hockey video games, [and] we’ve acquired to win numerous them. Each likelihood we get to get two factors, seize them.”