Alberts Smits had another rough weekend defensively, and the New York Rangers prospects paid for it in a two-game sweep against Philadelphia.
New York lost 3-2 Saturday and 4-1 Sunday in the annual Rookie Series in Allentown.
Smits was on the ice for all three Flyers goals in the opener, and his defense partner Drew Fortescue struggled badly playing his off side.
Fortescue misread a play that left Alex Bump wide open for the eventual game-winner Saturday, though he rebounded with a better performance Sunday.
The offense managed just one even-strength goal across both games, scoring twice more on the power play but generating almost nothing off the rush.
Liam Greentree and Dylan Roobroeck were the exceptions, with Adam Sykora and Tomas Chrenko setting up a Greentree goal Sunday that showed real chemistry.
New York never led in either game and got out-shot, out-chanced, and outscored across the weekend.
Goaltending was the only thing keeping this competitive
Callum Tung and Danai Shaiikov both delivered performances that had nothing to do with the losses.
Tung was sharp Saturday, handling traffic well and making a strong stop on a partial breakaway that kept the deficit manageable.
Shaiikov, still just 19, allowed only two real goals while getting badly outshot, including a highlight glove save on a point-blank one-timer midway through the third period.
Special teams carried what offense New York did produce. Roobroeck deflected in a power play goal Saturday, and Nathan Aspinall added another off a Cole Beaudoin faceoff win.
The penalty kill went a perfect two-for-two across the weekend, with Tung coming up with several big saves to bail out the group in front of him.
William Trudeau quietly had a strong weekend on the back end, a name that didn't carry the same pressure Smits did as the No. 5 overall pick.
Smits still projects as a real piece of this rebuild long-term, but these two games are exactly the kind of rough stretch that gets magnified when you're the top pick trying to make an opening night roster in three weeks.
Is Alberts Smits still on track to make the Rangers' opening night roster?
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