Well, that happened (again).
The Tampa Bay Lightning went into Madison Square Garden and took another tough loss to the New York Rangers, 4-1.
A four-game winning streak was snapped. The power play was quiet. A lot just flat-out went wrong.
At least they didn’t allow a goalie goal this time. Small victories?
"I think they kind of outworked us, executed a little bit better, and we just didn't have it today," Zemgus Girgensons said via the Tampa Bay Times... Just all around, I think they had a step on us. We didn't execute. We were somewhat disconnected. So nothing really was falling right."
The Rangers are a good team this season, and they’re clearly a mismatch for the Lightning. Even when they weren’t very good last year, they caused trouble. It’s simply a lot of the same with this matchup so far.
Fortunately for the Lightning, they don’t have to see this team again for a long time. The next game against the Rangers is on home ice on March 27. The next game at Madison Square Garden won't be until next season. Maybe the comfort of home will help.
Compared to the rest of the Lightning's schedule
Maybe this is a good time to take a look at the quality of the schedule so far.
The Minnesota Wild are a bona fide playoff team, and they’re playing like it early. Washington was a playoff team last season. They’re still expected to be one, but they’ve been slow out of the gate, mainly on the road.
While the Islanders’ offense isn’t anything to write home about, they have one of the best goalies in the league. It’s no small feat to take him down.
Then, there are the Flyers. I got nothing. They don’t have a win, and their goal differential is -21. It would’ve been bad if the Flyers had one win and it was the Lightning.
They still have two wins over playoff teams, and they were able to beat out a really good goalie on a mediocre team. That mediocre team is 3-1-0 at home. That lone loss is to the Lightning.
So, no need to necessarily worry. It’s a Rangers problem, not necessarily an indictment of the team in general.
"It was dreadful tonight," head coach Jon Cooper said via the Tampa Bay Times. "I didn't like the execution. I couldn't believe it. I can't be too hard on them because I've watched them play really well for the last four games, and like some legit teams we beat. Tonight, it was just an easy day for (the Rangers)."
If I were to critique one area, it would be their success on faceoffs. They’ve come out with the upper hand in that regard in one game this season. Even in the win over the Flyers, they couldn’t win the majority of faceoffs.
This hasn’t ever necessarily been their strong suit, even when they were winning back-to-back Stanley Cups and reaching the Final a third consecutive time. It’s mainly been middle of the pack, with one season (2023-24) where their faceoff win percentage was top 10. Even compared to then, however, it’s taken a step back.
According to MoneyPuck, their faceoff win percentage dropped below 50% for the first time in the 2020s decade last season (47.39%). This year, it’s 45.99%, the sixth-worst in the NHL. Against the Rangers, that number is 38.7%.
If there is a team that genuinely just has your number, you’re not going to have much of a chance when they’re controlling the puck for nearly two-thirds of the game. If it were a closer fight at the dot, it's hard to imagine the final score would still be this lopsided.
The Lightning still kept total shots on goal close in both games. On Tuesday, they outshot the Rangers. They may have ran away in that stat if they were winning more more faceoffs.
Faceoffs are not the sole reason they lost. There were some poorly timed giveaways mixed in there, but three of the Rangers' four goals on the night came after they won a faceoff on Tuesday night. It helps set the tone.
They’re fine overall for the season, but if these teams are going to meet again in the playoffs, then they’ll need to make some serious adjustments.
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