NEW YORK — As much as there were some bizarro world-type moments at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, the result there for the New York Rangers remained mostly the same.
Lucas Raymond’s game-winning goal with 3:47 left in regulation gave the Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 win over the Blueshirts, sending the Rangers to a stunning 1-7-1 record on home ice compared to a glowing 9-1-1 mark on the road.
As usual, given the location, there were more questions than answers after the game, some more serious than others.
Did both Original Six teams wear their Centennial jerseys, leading to a rare game in which both teams were wearing their home-colored sweaters? Yes.
Did the Red Wings choose The Outfield’s “Your Love” as their post-game victory song in the visiting locker room? Yes.
Was actor Jeff Garlin of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame in said visiting locker room after the game for who knows what reason conducting interviews alongside players? Yes.
Did both teams nearly get into a benches-clearing brawl after Mason Appleton shot the puck into the empty net just after time expired, causing Jonathan Quick to try to go after him? Yes.
Was David Quinn behind the podium in the press conference room on the fifth floor of MSG for the first time in nearly five years after Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan was forced to miss the game due to personal reasons? Yes.
Yes to all of it.
Quinn, who was fired as the Rangers head coach in 2021, and brought back just this year as an assistant under Sullivan had little update to offer on the team’s first-year bench boss from a once-again familiar spot, saying “from the coaches, to the players, to the organization, we certainly are thinking about Mike and his family…it’s never an easy situation when you have to tend to your family.”
By comparison, tending to a hockey team is easy, but it remains a tough task for the Rangers at home regardless of who’s behind the bench, it seems. Quick was mostly outstanding in making 40 saves in the loss — New York was outshot 42-19 in the contest — but would likely want the game-winner back, having skidded out of position on Raymond’s long wraparound effort that saw him curl into the low slot uncontested.
After a road shootout win in Columbus, the Rangers simply couldn’t muster much on the tail end of a back-to-back, something that the Red Wings were also dealing with.
“I didn’t think we were as energetic as we were last night, maybe it was the back-to-back,” Quinn said. “But, they played back-to-back as well, I know they lost a tough one. I just think we were a little bit more inconsistent tonight than we were on the road over the last two games.”
Source: Berkshire mont