The Rangers, who went 1-5 in the preseason, found themselves playing like it was just another exhibition game, showing off a lot of sloppy play on both ends of the ice, and not many positives to take way in the 4-1 loss to the Coyotes.
“We just made too many mistakes regarding the way we have to play, no matter who’s the coach, that has nothing to do with it,” Brad Richards said after the game. “We want to play a certain way, and we're going to have to work on it if we want to get there.
“We're in the regular season now. There are no excuses.”With Alain Vigneault behind the bench instead of John Tortorella, who is now in Vancouver, the Rangers didn't show me anything that says they'll be able to have their way for the rest of this grueling eight-game road trip to start the season while Madison Square Garden in under renovation.
Throughout the night, everything just seemed off, and it didn't look like the team was in sync on either side of the floor.
Phoenix scored early in the first period on a bonehead play by superstar goaltender Henrik Lundqvist when he tried to clear the puck from behind the net, but instead slipped right over to a Coyotes player to setup a one-timer for Kyle Chipchura. The power plays -- which even though it was 1-for-4 on the night -- seemed to be the only thing creating actual scoring chances for the Blueshirts.
Anytime they actually got a good chance to put the puck in the back of the net, Phoenix’s goalie, Mike Smith, was locked in, snagging any loose puck that came his way. Even with Lundqvist on the other side, he was still the night’s best man in goal.
“You have to give credit where credit is due,” Vigneault said, who was making his coaching debut with the Rangers. “Their goaltender handles the puck very well but we’re party responsible, too, because we have to put the puck in the corners, which we weren't that efficient at doing.”
When New York wasn't a man up, they weren't setting up good chances, and passes weren't as crisp as you would like to see. And on defense, Phoenix looked like they should have had a few more goals than they did given their chances early in the game.
“I think we have to figure out when is the right time to be aggressive in our own end,” said veteran defenseman Marc Staal. “There were shifts when I thought we were good at it, but there were other times when we were tired and couldn't get the puck back.
“We're going to have to learn from this.”
The Rangers will have until Monday to prepare for their next opponent, the Los Angeles Kings, get start up the heavy portion of this road trip that include four-games in six nights, with Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim and St. Louis all on the docket.
They had six games in the preseason to get things right, but it still spilt over into the regular season. There are still 81 games left in this quest for the cup, but the Rangers have a lot of work to do if they even want to be a part of the quest.
Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.
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