This one had a little bit of everything except for a cohesive New York Rangers effort.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Matt Rempe fought in his return to the NHL after a brief minor-league stint and the Rangers allowed three goals — all in the first 8:58 of the game. The Rangers’ first trip back to Washington since sweeping the Capitals in the opening round of the 2024 playoffs was a sloppy affair, one of the very few ugly stretches of play the team has had so far this season.
Despite allowing four goals, Igor Shesterkin was the star of the show for the Rangers, making 41 saves. The Rangers did make a game of it after that poor start but dropped a 5-3 decision to a Caps team that’s gotten off to a surprising 6-2-0 start this season, just a point behind the Rangers.
A few areas of concern that have been masked by the Rangers’ overall good first eight games cropped up again on Tuesday. Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider lost coverage on first-period Caps goals and have not looked sharp at five-on-five yet this season. K’Andre Miller was dropped off the top pair with Adam Fox in the third period on Tuesday after a couple of glaring mistakes that led to Caps goals. Miller was reunited with Jacob Trouba in the third and Ryan Lindgren took his spot back alongside Fox for the first time this year.
The Will Cuylle-Filip Chytil-Kaapo Kakko line was a standout, producing two goals and extending its run of not being on the ice for a goal against to nine games.
A few key takeaways from a night when the Rangers mostly didn’t have it:
Ovi gets two but Shesterkin nearly steals one
Ovechkin had just two goals in 12 career games against Shesterkin coming into Tuesday but doubled that total in a 1:47 span early in the first. Both goals came off Rangers turnovers in the defensive zone, with Ovechkin whipping one of his signature wrist shots through Lindgren and then Shesterkin followed by an open look in tight after Miller turned the puck over at the wall and left room for a Caps two-on-one down low.
That gives Ovechkin 857 career goals, 37 behind Wayne Gretzky. Shesterkin gave up two more on redirections by unguarded Caps behind him off angled passes but even allowing that many, Shesterkin rang up half a dozen eye-popping saves to keep it close through the second and third periods.
One of his best was a glove stop on Connor McMichael late in the third to hold it at 4-3, with Shesterkin crouching low to see through a crowd. It was McMichael’s 10th shot on goal of the game.
Welcome back, Rempe!
Rempe’s weekend in Hartford included big minutes playing center, trying to keep the 22-year-old fresh and learning. Five seconds into his first shift on Tuesday he was back to doing what he knows best.
The big winger dropped the gloves with Caps defenseman Dylan McIlrath. Those two fought in the AHL in November of 2022 and McIlrath, who made the Caps this season after 618 AHL games, certainly seemed to make an appointment with Rempe in warmups. Rempe got a cut on his cheek for his troubles in that bout.
Rempe ended up playing just 5:01. We will see what Peter Laviolette has in mind for the weekend, when the Rangers face the Senators and Islanders.
Miller, Zibanejad struggle
Miller’s underlying numbers have been solid so far this season and the Rangers coming into Tuesday at 6-1-1 means hardly anyone on the team has had a genuinely rough start to this year. But playing alongside Fox means the heaviest load for a defenseman and Miller needs to be more physical and simpler with his plays to work off Fox; on Tuesday there were two bad instances for No. 79 that likely led to him playing with Trouba for the final 20 minutes.
The turnover on the side wall that led to Ovechkin’s second goal was a poor read and then a poor reaction. Miller was also slow off the wall to allow Aliaksei Protas to get positioned for a tap-in during a four-on-four stretch to make it 4-2 in the second. Miller’s skills have not necessarily included quick decision-making and he was caught lacking on those two.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Laviolette went with Lindgren-Fox and Miller-Trouba for a stretch. What the coach can do with Zibanejad is a tougher question.
The nominal No. 1 center picked up his seventh point on Kreider’s second-period goal Tuesday but Zibanejad’s real pride is his 200-foot game, especially at five-on-five. He was caught watching from the wall on Ovechkin’s second goal and didn’t pick anyone up on McMichael’s goal later in the first.
According to Clear Sight Hockey, only four Rangers had a negative high-danger chance differential entering Tuesday’s game: Rempe, Victor Mancini, Lindgren and Zibanejad.
Zibanejad’s struggles are reflected in his usage Tuesday — he played 11:47 at even strength, seventh among the 12 forwards. The Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko line has been the second line in terms of five-on-five ice time for a couple of games now, which is great for the younger guys on that line that have produced and been responsible so far.
It’s not great news for Zibanejad and his line, which the Rangers need to be successful now and into the spring.
(Top photo of K’Andre Miller and Alex Ovechkin: Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)
