By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo: Jared Silber | Credit: NHLI via Getty Images Copyright: 2024 NHLI
The Los Angeles Kings dominated the New York Rangers, taking a 5-1 win at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.
It was an embarrassing loss for the Rangers. This is the ninth time this season that they have allowed five goals or more.
Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, and Phillip Danault scored goals for the Kings. Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves.
The Rangers’ defense looked lost and awful. They turned the puck over several times. There were 18 shifts. There was no urgency or aggression from the Rangers.
The Kings dominated the first two periods of the game. In the first five minutes of the second period, the Kings scored three goals.
After 25 minutes, Rangers goalie Igor Shesterskin was sent to the bench, allowing five goals in 21 shots. Shesterkin fell to 10-11-1 this season.
There was nothing positive about this game from the Rangers.
“From start to finish, just flat,” Zibanajed said. “It’s a bad game. I think we’re just waiting for the next guy to do something, and it just becomes a waiting game, and we have to understand that it will take a lot more than that.”
Vincent Trocheck, who took just two shots and delivered four hits in 18 minutes of ice time, was highly disappointed in his performance and expressed this to the media after the game.
“I’m disappointed in myself for how things went on that first goal,” Trocheck said. “When you’re in a hole like this, you can’t afford to have that to happen, so got to be better.”
“We’re heading on the road right now to St Louis,” Trocheck said. “Look ourselves in the mirror and tell ourselves we need to be better and show up at the rink tomorrow with a killer mentality. We’re letting many things get to us, and we need to make sure that we’re focusing on what we’re doing, not letting anything get to us mentally.
Rangers have lost nine of their 12 games. The Rangers will take on the St Louis Blues at 6pm on Sunday.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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