How Rangers can build on just one win

How Rangers can build on just one win

This morning-after was a better one for the Rangers, who for only the fourth time reported to the practice rink off of a victory and therefore unencumbered by the effects of defeat.

“When you’re losing, nothing in your life is as good,” Mats Zuccarello said. “You go home after the game and you second-guess yourself. You don’t sleep well. You’re not in a good mood around your teammates. It builds up.

“Everyone’s professional life is about winning hockey games. Some days are really hard to be positive. It’s tough. But at the same time, it’s impossible to get out of this if we’re thinking negatively. It’s hard. I try and keep it as loose as I can, but I know that there are times to leave certain guys alone.

“This road trip coming up should be good for us.”

The Rangers generated positive vibes with Tuesday’s 6-4 victory over Vegas in which they scored four third-period goals to overcome a 4-2 deficit. They will attempt to build on these good feelings and their 4-7-2 record on this first multi-city trip of the year that features matches on Thursday in Tampa Bay, where Dan Girardi and the powerhouse Lightning await, and on Saturday in Sunrise against the Panthers.

“It’s definitely going to be a big challenge for us, but I think the way we played in the third period with that type of mindset, desperation and urgency is definitely something that will help us if we can play it for 60 minutes,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who was excellent against the Golden Knights despite surrendering four goals on 34 shots. “It’s hard to do that for 60 minutes, but we have to try to go after it.

“Being behind a little bit here, we need a good road trip to get back in the race.”

The adage is that road trips can be binding and bonding exercises. Zuccarello is not quite so sure about that, but the alternate captain does acknowledge there can be important benefits of being away from home.

“A lot of guys now have families with younger children so when they get on the road they can get a good night’s sleep, feel rested and relaxed and just do their thing, maybe watch Netflix or whatever it is,” said No. 36. “Some guys hang out together and play cards and we have a group of about eight of us that play PlayStation.

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“As a group, we know each other pretty well and get along really well. It’s a solid group.”

The Rangers need to address their defensive issues as well as a propensity for giving up their own line because of neutral-zone positions of weakness. Last year, at least through the first half’s offensive bonanza, the Blueshirts repeatedly attacked the puck and created turnovers in the neutral zone that triggered odd-man attacks. This year, not so much.

And even when the Rangers have been able to generate odd-man chances, their execution has been lacking. J.T. Miller, yet to hit his stride in any capacity, is perhaps the best pure passing forward on the club. But late in the second period Tuesday with the score 3-2 Vegas, Miller didn’t even come close on a two-on-one pass that would have sent Jimmy Vesey in home free. It is not only on Miller, of course. These kinds of mishaps have become typical for a slew of players who haven’t come close to past performance.

“Being in the right frame of mind can make all the difference,” Zuccarello said. “Everyone can react differently, some guys want to be left alone maybe on a certain day, other guys could be looking for support.

“But one thing that is the same for everyone is that winning makes life so much easier.”