For a team that has struggled to score goals, especially at home, the Rangers’ power play failure has been even more damaging.
They went 0-for-9 in their previous four games with the man advantage on Tuesday, then went 0-for-3 in a 3-0 loss to Carolina at Madison Square Garden.
Making matters worse, the Hurricanes took the lead on a power play goal in the first period.
After the loss, coach Mike Sullivan hinted that changes could be on the way for the power-play unit that hasn’t been able to produce much of anything.
“One of the reasons we stuck with the group we had so far is we felt like this group, both based on the eye test and analytically, has done a pretty good job of generating quality looks,” Sullivan said. “We may have to make some adjustments at some point and we certainly will.”
This season, the Rangers have been among the worst teams in the league on the power play, and Adam Fox, part of that first power play unit, acknowledged the recent failure and how much of an impact it has had on the team.
“Power plays make the difference,” Fox said. ‘They get one [Tuesday]. We don’t. That’s the difference, especially at the beginning of the game.”
Fox called special teams “a huge factor. It definitely cost us a few games.”
And Mika Zibanejad was again baffled by the Rangers’ inability to get through in 5-on-4 situations.
“I don’t know,” Zibanejad said. “We keep talking about things we’re good at. We had maybe three or four A classes [chances]. We have to find a way to put the puck in the net.”
With two days before their next game in Detroit, the Rangers have a chance to work on that aspect of their game.
“We’ll adjust it,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to do our best to find solutions and give these guys something to hang their hat on. We might be able to approach this a little bit in a different way.”
K’Andre Miller returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time since his July trade to Carolina, but missed the game with a lower-body injury.
He reflected on his five years with the Rangers after being the team’s first-round pick in 2018.
“As far as confidence and just what I wanted from myself, I didn’t get a lot of the results I wanted here,” Miller said during Carolina’s morning skate at MSG. “I blame myself for that. I’ve had some problems here over the last few years. The ups and downs, I think, just took their toll and were on my mind for a lot of the time I was here.”
Miller joined Carolina in a sign-and-trade, signing an eight-year deal worth $60 million.
“He couldn’t have played much better at the start,” Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s the range. It’s his skating ability. We almost got burned, but we shut it down because we have an extra two feet of reach. And then his skating ability fits in perfectly, getting on the ice and doing everything.”
Defender Urho Veelanainen was sidelined on Tuesday after missing training on Monday with a lower-body injury. Matthew Robertson came on for Veelanainen.
— with AP
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