The Columbus Blue Jackets enjoyed a nice Sunday off after perhaps one of their best games of the season Saturday night in Detroit. They had energy. They controlled the game. Although it got interesting in the end, they held on to earn a 4-3 win on the road.
Meanwhile, the New York Rangers had a game at home Sunday night against the upstart Montreal Canadiens. Igor Sheshterkin was in net. On the front end of a back-to-back set, the Rangers were favored to add a win to their recent success.
Except it didn’t happen that way. Samuel Montembeault improved to 3-0-0 all-time against the Rangers. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 2-1. From a Rangers’ standpoint, that’s an unacceptable loss against a team they should beat on home ice. They got a chance to make things right Monday night in Columbus. They figured to be the tired team with the Blue Jackets at home waiting for them.
Actually, that’s where this story begins. It was the Blue Jackets who looked like the team who played the night before. Yes the Rangers figured to be upset at Sunday night’s result. But to have zero energy through 40 minutes of Monday night’s game is almost inexplicable.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, these kind of games have happened too often for their liking. If there’s anything that should sound the alarms, it’s this.
Rangers Dominate
Let’s look at some eye-popping numbers from the first 40 minutes of the game. Keep in mind the final score was eventually 3-1 Rangers. On the surface, it would seem the game was at least competitive.
It was anything but competitive.
According to Nat Stat Trick at 5-on-5, The Rangers held a 17-4 advantage in shot attempts in the first period. They followed that up with a 19-11 advantage in the second period. That’s 36-15 in 40 minutes.
If that’s not bad enough, the HD scoring chances were 8-1 Rangers after 40 minutes. The Blue Jackets had absolutely nothing. How is that possible?
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Then to make matters worse, they took a slew of penalties that helped the Rangers build a lead they wouldn’t give up. The third period was at least a little more competitive. But by then, the game was decided.
On one hand, give the Rangers credit. They lost a bad one on Sunday and then did what good teams do. They put it behind them and grabbed a win the next night against a team they should beat.
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On the other hand, although the Blue Jackets talked pregame about how difficult a challenge the Rangers would be, they…
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