from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
The Rangers are less than the sum of their parts. They look like a bad team and have looked like a bad team through sizable portions of nine of the 10 games they have played, the 2-0 victory over Montreal on Oct. 8 serving as the lone exception.
What’s more, they have often looked like a bad team getting bad goaltending. Henrik Lundqvist either surrendered two or three bad ones, depending on whether you think the goaltender should be held responsible for Logan Couture’s 50-footer that may have ticked off Chris Kreider at 1:56 of the first period.
There could be no arguments on the second goal that came from a weak-angle right-corner shot from Tim Heed at 12:45 of the first period or on Melker Karlsson’s 4-0 goal at 2:51 of the third after Lundqvist had been stripped by Couture trying to play a wraparound behind the net.
The Rangers may be shy some young talent after having traded away four consecutive first-rounders from 2013 through 2016 in attempts to win it all, but when you get nights on which your goaltender’s save percentage is under .900 — as in this one in which Lundqvist allowed four goals on 24 shots, and as in six of his nine starts, including three under .870 — even the most splendiferous young talent extant wouldn’t necessarily make a difference.
Highlights of the Rangers' 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks are below...
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