After a back and forth game against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers escaped with a 5-3 victory during their visit in Pennsylvania. However, head coach Peter Laviolette sent the team a stern message after the win which put New York back in the mix for a place in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Securing the regulation win over Crosby’s Penguins was pivotal for the Rangers as they left Pittsburgh further behind in the hunt for the postseason while cutting in their deficit behind the wildcard teams.
However, the win wasn’t necessarily pretty for Laviolette’s Blueshirts. New York allowed 39 shots while only registering 16 chances on the home team’s net. That isn’t the best recipe for success, but the Rangers needed the win more than they desired an overall impressive performance, and they were willing to take the two points however they came.
Regardless, Laviolette couldn’t hide his concerns about the Rangers’ performance, as they were outplayed during several stretches of the game by Crosby and company.
Head coach Peter Laviolette of the New York Rangers speaks with the media at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“We’ve got to play better,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said, per NHL.com. “We’ve got to continue to work on our game and play better. I thought the guys in the third period did what we needed to do, but just from a 60-minute standpoint, we’ve got to play better.”
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Shared sentiment
The Rangers didn’t hold their heads too high after the win in the City of Bridges. While they understood that winning was paramount, the way they pulled it off was far from their standard.
After being ragdolled by the Buffalo Sabres, New York cared about nothing else but securing the win, yet they expected to show a different face once they did.
“We know the standard is higher than that, so we need to be better,“ Rangers forward Will Cuylle admitted postgame, per The New York Post. “We want to play a lot better 60 minutes, full complete game. I think our third periods have been good lately, so want to try to carry that over into next game. It’s got to be better than that. It’s not a good performance by us by any means.”
Sidney Crosby (87) of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates the Stanley Cup Final victory over the Nashville Predators on June 11 2017.
Sullivan’s message to Crosby and Penguins
The Penguins are facing early do-or-die games in the NHL season, with their hopes for a postseason berth getting slimmer by the second. However, head coach Mike Sullivan voiced a carefully worded reminder to Crosby and the rest of the team after the loss to the Rangers.
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NHL News: Peter Laviolette makes very harsh statement after New York’s horrible loss vs Buffalo
“Listen, we understand where we’re at,” Mike Sullivan stated. “We know that every game is important, every two points are important. We’re just going to stay in the moment and keep fighting. We’re going to fight until the very end. It’s not doom and gloom.”
