Rangers Defensemen Fall Short in Opener | New York Rangers News

Corey (0:00)

Today is September 30th. Alright, so opening night for the New York Rangers didn't go as planned. They fought hard against the Boston Bruins for most of the game, but fell apart late losing 3-0. That stings, especially after being shut out 10 times last season. It's got to be frustrating to see that trend carry over. The Rangers had their chances to find the back of the net, but couldn't convert. The Bruins made their opportunities count, putting up 3.6 expected goals against the Rangers 2.0.

Igor Shesterkin was under fire, and it's clear that the defensive play needs to tighten up. Speaking of defense, the top pairing of Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov held their own well. They had a positive expected goal share of 55.9 percent. But things went south with the other pairings, as Marcus Pedersen and Sean Dersie, along with Albert Smits and Braden Schneider, struggled to keep the Bruins in check. Gavrikov had a misstep that turned into a scoring chance for Boston, while Schneider got burned in the neutral zone. Those little mistakes can cost you big time. And it's surprising to see the ice time distribution, Dersie and Pedersen logged over 23 minutes, while Fox was on the ice for just over 18

That's not going to help when you need your best defenseman getting more minutes. So, it's just one game, but the Rangers definitely need to figure out their defensive pairings moving forward. They've got two extra defensemen, Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow, who could step up and shake things up on the blue line.

It'll be interesting to see how they adjust for the next match. From your team, powered by AI, this is New York Rangers News Today. I'm Corey with the story.