The New York Rangers have come out empty-handed on their west coast road trip thus far, dropping a 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night and a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
The Rangers’ matchup against the Kings marked the homecoming of both Jonathan Quick and Vladislav Gavrikov back to Los Angeles.
For Quick, who played against his former team just one day before his 40th birthday, was not as sentimental about his return to Los Angeles, given that he had played against the Kings a couple of times since his departure during the 2022-23 season, while also playing for multiple teams since then.
“It was three teams ago, right? Special going back to Vegas, Columbus — the more recent teams,” Quick said. “Obviously appreciate the fan support here in LA, while I was here.”
For Gavrikov, on the other hand, it was his first time returning to Crypto.com Arena to play the Kings since signing a seven-year $49 million contract with the Rangers.
He received a tribute video in the first period and spoke fondly about his time in Los Angeles after the game.
“It was great,” Gavrikov said of his emotions watching the tribute video. “I have a lot of friends here, a lot of good memories of all the positivity, lucky to play here, and grateful to have met those people and be part of the organization."
While the Rangers found themselves in a 2-2 game heading into the second period, thanks to goals from Will Cuylle and J.T. Miller, it was defensive zone lapses and struggles to break the puck out of their own zone that ultimately put them in a hole.
In the middle frame, the Kings were able to capitalize on the Rangers’ mistakes and jumped to a 4-2 lead, which the Rangers were unable to comeback from.
Despite some of their defensive woes and high-danger chances that they allowed, the Blueshirts actually held a 36-27 advantage in shots on net by the night’s end.
The Rangers had numerous chances to climb back into this game, including during a 5-on-3 power play in the second period, but the theme of the season continues to be the team’s lack of scoring no matter how many chances they may generate, which was once again the story of Tuesday night’s loss.
“We pride ourselves on getting the looks at the end of the day,” Miller said. “We were a shot or two from winning the last two games, so they are important. Gotta bear down in those situations, but at the end of the day it’s bittersweet. We are doing a lot of good things to get the looks.”
Jonathan Quick Makes Return To Los Angeles As His 40th Birthday Approaches Jonathan Quick is set to start against his former team as the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> take on the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
It’s now been three games since Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury submitted a letter to fans revealing the team’s plan to retool the roster.
From Miller’s perspective, the Rangers have done a good job of blocking out the noise and feel they’ve actually elevated their game since the letter was issued.
“There’s been a lot going on around us over the last week. Over the last few games, there’s a lot to like in our game,” Miller said. “It’s not going to be perfect, we are trying our a–s off. A lot of distractions, and I think we are just trying to learn and build and try to improve in some areas on a daily basis.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Friday night against the San Jose Sharks.