Rangers were eliminated after losing steam in the first-round series

Panarin’s shortcomings, along with the Devils’ pace, resulted in a 7-game defeat.

On Monday, the New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers 4-0 in Game 7 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference First Round to send them packing from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Rangers (47-22-13) were the third-seeded team in the Metropolitan Division. The Devils, who had 52 more victories, completed the regular season five points ahead of them.

After making it to the Eastern Conference Final the previous year before succumbing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, New York was in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, the Rangers were one of the major buyers, acquiring forwards Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko in separate deals.

The skinny Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, Tyler Motte, Niko Mikkola, Jaroslav Halak, and other potential unrestricted free agents include:

Potential restricted free agents: Libor Hajek (D), Alexis Lafreniere (F), and K’Andre Miller

4 possible selections in the 2023 Draught

The Rangers were eliminated for the following five reasons:

The Rangers were eliminated for the following five reasons:

Lost momentum after the first two games:
After two games, the Rangers had the series under control. At the Prudential Centre, they triumphed in Games 1 and 2 with identical 5-1 scores. They scored four goals while on the power play. Their star players were making goals.

They were so dominant after the first two games that the Devils changed goalies for Game 3, starting 22-year-old rookie Akira Schmid in place of Vitek Vanecek.

Game 3 was a close game that might have gone anyway, but the Rangers fell 2-1 in overtime. Then, in Game 4, which they lost 3-1, they played their worst game of the series. They were heavily defeated in Game 5 by a score of 4-0, rebounded to win Game 6 by a score of 5-2, but again failed to score in Game 7.

According to Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, “Maybe we let up when we got a 2-0 lead and gave them a little momentum.” “When we played well, the score showed it,” the coach said.

Battled the Devils’ speed:
Because they made the Devils play slowly, or at least much slower than they wanted to, the Rangers were able to win Games 1 and 2.

Because they upped their game and occasionally outpaced the Rangers with their speed all over the ice, the Devils were able to win the series.

In Games 3, 4, 5, and 7, the Rangers had trouble making clear entrances into the attacking zone. They lacked a response to the Devils’ forceful forecheck. Neither puck races nor wall-to-wall puck fights were ones they were winning.

When a team can’t create chances or maintain puck control in the attacking zone, scoring is difficult. The Devils were quicker, more aggressive, and in charge in the four losses for the Rangers.

According to Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, “We had a good team; I liked our team, but the team we played was a very fast team and they took it to us at times during the series with their speed.”

Panarin’s challenges:
For the first time ever in the NHL, Artemi Panarin went six games without recording a point despite having two assists in Game 1. He failed to register a point in the rest of the series.

Other Rangers players had trouble finding the back of the net. After scoring 39 goals throughout the regular season, Mika Zibanejad only had one goal. Kane just scored once. So did Vincent Trocheck, who scored the series’ sole point. There was no argument made by Alexis Lafreniere.

Despite leading the Rangers in scoring with 92 points during the regular season, Panarin struggled to be effective or productive enough against the Devils.

In the series, he only attempted 15 shots on goal or barely two per game.

Power Play stopped:
On their first seven opportunities in the series, the Rangers scored four goals with the power play. They then went scoreless for 14 straight times before eventually scoring in Game 6’s opening frame at 19:35.

In Games 3, 4, and 5, they were 0 for 5 with six shots on goal, 0 for 3 with four shots, and 0 for 2 with four shots. In Game 7, where they failed to capitalize on three power play opportunities in the first period and enabled Devils winger Mike McLeod to score a devastating shorthanded goal in the second, they went 0-for-4 with three shots to conclude the series.

Give Schmid a pass:
After losing the first two games, the Devils’ coach, Lindy Ruff, eventually acknowledged that starting Game 3 with Schmid was essentially a gamble. He had no idea how the newbie would react.

Undoubtedly, it went well. With two shutouts, a 1.38 goals-against average, and a.951 save % over the following five games, Schmid won four of them. The Rangers didn’t exactly make it difficult for him either, though.

From Game 3 on, they discussed the necessity to increase the amount of traffic in front of Schmid and the number of shots directed at him. The Rangers kept saying it, but they just couldn’t seem to get to that game.

In the extra period of Game 3, the Rangers had 36 shots on target. In games four and five, they had 23. In Game 6, they had 29 shots and scored five goals, but in Game 7, they had 18 shots through two periods and were down 2-0. In the third, they had 13 but failed to get one in.