Learning a new system or not, the Rangers’ fluctuating efforts will never be conducive to playing the tight defensive game they aspire to.
Such was the case Thursday night in a 4-1 loss to the Predators at the Garden, where the visitors didn’t have to work that hard for the puck or fight that hard for the dangerous areas of the ice.
The odd-man rushes against were plentiful.
There was way too much activity around the Rangers’ net all night long.
And for the second straight game, they took penalties in abundance.
“It’s something that’s on the topic every day when we go into a game — to eliminate the high risk, to eliminate the standing at the offensive blue line,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after the Rangers’ second loss of the season. “We had that problem in Columbus, as well. I thought we did the same thing. We gave up too much. But in Columbus, we competed hard. We attacked the net hard.
“[Thursday night] is different for me because there are a lot of components and aspects of the game that aren’t good enough, that are missing. And with that, you’re not going to find much success.”
The 1-3-1 neutral zone trap the Rangers have adopted from Laviolette hasn’t worked as well as it did against Buffalo.
Teams have largely carved through the neutral zone, found backdoor lanes and in turn gained relatively easy access into the Rangers’ zone at times.
Vincent Trocheck told The Post earlier this season that the system will work for any team that buys into it.
That’s one commitment to the structure and attacking puck battles, which was somewhat lacking Thursday night.
“We still gave up eight odd-man rushes and two breakaways,” Laviolette said. “You’re just not going to find success unless you button that up.”
The Rangers were ranked seventh in the NHL in penalty minutes with 56, trailing the Canadiens (85), Hurricanes (81), Coyotes (78), Wild (67), Golden Knights (65), Jets (60), Ducks (60) and Canucks (60), entering Friday.
Despite having such a strong penalty kill, the Rangers have given up three power-play goals in the last two games.
“Just for myself, they were sloppy stick penalties,” Adam Fox said. “Very avoidable. It’s tough to win when you’re giving teams power plays. You know you have a great penalty kill, but teams are going to capitalize when you give them enough [opportunities].”
The Rangers were off Friday as they traveled to Seattle, where they will face the Kraken on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
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