BOSTON — They played like strangers in the night even if the Rangers’ 4-2 defeat to the Mighty Bruins was a matinee affair.
And yes, that was kind of understandable given the turmoil of the last week, in which the Blueshirts have been playing short, have been missing their top two left defensemen and have attempted to integrate ballyhooed acquisition Patrick Kane into the lineup.
Through all of the cap-related machinations to squeeze enough space with which to obtain No. 88, through the suspension to K’Andre Miller and the injury to Ryan Lindgren, results have been overshadowed.
The fact is that the Blueshirts have lost six of their last eight games (2-5-1) and in doing so have frittered away a fair part of their cushy separation from wild-card land. There are 21 games to go and this is surely not a crisis, but it is time to leave the extraneous in the rearview mirror.
“We’re not happy with the losing, but after a couple of days off and a couple of days of practice before the next game [Thursday in Montreal], we’ll be ready to get going again,” Mika Zibanejad said after one of his quietest games of the year. “We know what we have to do.”
The Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Kane unit looked for all the world as if it was a combination in its second game together. Panarin forced one pass after another in Kane’s direction, the success rate lower than Zach Wilson’s on a bad day. Kane was doing blind-pass things, one of which the Bruins turned into a shorthanded goal for a 2-0 lead just 30 seconds into the second period.
“They’re trying to force the play into the middle of the ice too much and there are too many turnovers,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “There’s chemistry there but they’ve got to make sure we’re making strong plays. There are too many times we’re trying for that long pass, east-west in the offensive zone.
“They’ll get it together but it wasn’t good. There were too many turnovers, not only by them but by a lot of guys.”
For the record, the unit combined for five shots on goal in 13:55 of five-on-five play. Again, probably understandable. It was, however, befuddling to watch Zibanejad and Chris Kreider (with Vladimir Tarasenko) act as if this was their first rodeo. That unit somehow generated one shot against Vezina-frontrunner Linus Ullmark in 10:09 of even-strength work.
The Kids kind of came and went. Alexis Lafreniere may have been the club’s most effective forward with and without the puck, scoring both of the Rangers’ goals while elevating his physical play in this one in which B’s grinders Garnet Hathaway, Tomas Nosek and Tyler Bertuzzi had a consistent impact. The Rangers didn’t allow themselves to be bullied, but they probably realize just about everyone is going to try to knock them around.
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If you want to count Barclay Goodrow as a grinder, that’s probably where the count stops with the Blueshirts, though Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko might want to have a word. At his introductory press briefing Thursday, Kane lauded the pingpong twins for their, “physical, grinding-type play,” not generally associated with premium draft selections.
“If we don’t have the puck, I try to get in on the forecheck and be as physical as I can,” Lafreniere told The Post. “It keeps you more involved when you can get in a hit or two. If we don’t have the puck, I want to get it back.
“It was cool for [Kane] to say that. I grew up watching him play, it’s just awesome to have him on our team. It’s great for me to be able to learn from guys like him. We have so many high-end players who I can see at practice every day and try to take things and put into my game.”
The first power-play unit, which had stayed essentially the same for more than two-and-a-half seasons is undergoing a radical transformation. The Rangers seemed as if they had no idea where to go and what to do with Kane’s addition to the equation.
“When you’re changing from one unit to another it’s not that big of a deal because you basically play with everyone at some point,” Zibanejad said. “But it’s a major adjustment with Kaner, and we haven’t even had a morning skate to work together, only video and talking.
“We need practice time. That’s very logical. It can only get better.”
Things should settle down around the team, which will have two days off ahead of two days of practice before a three-game trip to Montreal, Buffalo and Pittsburgh commences on Thursday against the Canadiens.
Adam Fox, whose game has been uncharacteristically pedestrian lately, should benefit from some time away from the rink. Miller will be back in the lineup. Lindgren’s return is a possibility. The Rangers would be allowed an emergency recall to get to 12 forwards if Tyler Motte remains sidelined.
Things should get back to normal. Normal includes winning.
