Rangers have 81 games to straighten things out after lackluster opener

GREENBURGH — There was, as Mike Sullivan and J.T. Miller and Adam Fox readily acknowledged, disconnection in the centennial season opener.

But, they stressed, it is not a cause for panic.

Because there are 81 games remaining in the nascent season. Time is not of the essence. Rather, in this case, it is an ally.

“Last night was more about decisions within ourselves and things that we can control,” was Miller’s analysis about the Rangers’ 3-0 loss to the Penguins Tuesday night. “The connection was based on our play, not our misunderstanding of the system or anything like that. So like I said, it’s Game One. I don’t want to make it more than what it is. We expect more of each other like I said last night and we will be better tomorrow.”

Over the course of 60 minutes against a rebuilding Penguins team, the Rangers thought about where they were supposed to be on the ice instead of reacting, and the results were what one might reasonably expect. The Rangers were charged with 17 giveaways, while being outshot 30-25 and out-attempted 61-60.

Fox, the Jericho native, thought that there could be a bit of a learning curve for a group adjusting to Sullivan’s system after two years under Peter Laviolette’s.

“Part of it can be the new system,”  Fox said. “There’s guys trying to think a little too much [about] where to be. We’re coming from a little different scheme in terms of coverage. I think sometimes that could get guys a little confused and get a little disconnected.”

It cost them significantly when Justin Brazeau lifted an in-close backhander over Igor Shesterkin with 32 seconds left in the first period for the game-deciding goal. On the play, Evgeni Malkin cleanly won a faceoff from Vincent Trocheck before slipping a quick pass to Brazeau, who was all alone in front.

When asked if what he saw on film matched what he saw behind the bench, Sullivan, instead of assessing blame on any individual, thought it provided ample teaching material for a group that only had a three-week-long training camp and exhibition season to get up to speed with his teachings.

“I think there's a lot to take from a learning opportunity, that's for sure,” Sullivan said. ‘Starting in the defensive zone. I thought we vacated our net front a fair amount. We allowed them to get inside us a little often and we gave up some high-quality looks. I thought [Shesterkin] made a couple of big saves to keep it at one goal. For me, I think that's the biggest area where I think we've got to do a better job just playing within structure. And then we've got an opportunity to kill plays by physically getting into people and getting the puck stopped. We [have] to try to do that.”

Notes & quotes: Miller, who suffered a lower-body injury during a training camp session on Sept. 29, said he is “doing everything I can to get the game legs ready. Obviously last week [not] doing a whole lot so it’s hard to jump in. But unfortunately it’s one of those things that I just [have] to do as much as I can to get my body ready sooner.”