The Rangers wrap up this seasons edition of the Hudson River Rivalry with a 3-1 win, giving them a 3-1 record on the year against the Devils. The Rangers needed a much better effort after their last two games and that's exactly what they gave. Getting contributions all throughout the lineup, the Rangers played tight defensively and dominated in the special teams category. On top of that, Alexandar Georgiev had a strong performance, collecting his fifth win in his last five starts which is exactly what you want out of him.
The Rangers more or less dominated at the start of the game, peppering Nico Daws with shots early and often. All looked great until about seven minutes in when Yegor Sharangovich picked up a Jacob Trouba turnover, giving him a breakaway that he beat Georgiev on, cutting to his backhand. For a brief moment, things weren't looking great but things would quickly turn around after Braden Schneider laid a huge hit on Jesper Boqvist. Schneider, who they players call "baby Trouba" did his best Jacob Trouba impression which included having to answer the call following a clean hit. His first career NHL fight resulted in him winning in decisive fashion and benefited the Rangers as Yegor Sharangovich was awarded an instigator penalty for going after Schneider.
The Rangers would have a power play and Ryan Strome would prove just how sorely he was missed as he got the Rangers on the board, putting away a shot right in front of the net. The Rangers power play is clearly one of the best in the league and Kreider and Zibanejad are often recognized as the reason for it. However, Strome absence just proved how vital each of those five players are to making that unit successful.
As play went on the Rangers continued to be the stronger team. With about two and a half minutes to go in the period, Pavel Zacha took a bad offensive zone penalty, holding Adam Fox in the corner, giving the Rangers another man advantage. Talk about how vital each piece to the Rangers power play is, Artemi Panarin would get his second assist of the night on the play as Chris Kreider would surpass Jaromir Jagr for most power play goals in a season. In addition to that, Chris Kreider now has the most game winning goals in a season in franchise history and is the only player in league history to record more than 47 goals, 25 power play goals, three short handed and 10 game winners in a season.
The Rangers captain not captain is certainly making a strong case for his name to go down in Rangers history, potentially right next to Henrik Lundqvist. I think the deciding factor in his case could ultimately be whether or not he gets the Rangers to where we all hope they will finally get but regardless this career year of his is just further solidifying him in the Rangers history books. His leadership on and off the ice is a huge reason why this team is as good as they are.
The second period would be one of the more boring periods of the season and certainly the lowest offensive period as the Rangers were only credited for one shot on goal in the entire period. The Devils had their share of chances but Georgiev held down the fort in the Rangers end, keeping his team in the game with the lead. Andrew Copp would take a tripping penalty around halfway through the period and the Rangers penalty killers absolutely dominated the ice, keeping the Devils from getting any sort of momentum built.
A similar story would narrate the third period although this time, the Rangers chalked up three shots on goal to the Devils eight. Despite the low shot tally, the Rangers were able to get an insurance goal, extending their lead by two off Justin Braun's first goal as a New York Ranger. Andrew Copp won the face-off and Braden Schneider fed Braun a one timer that hit off the glove of Daws and went right into the net. Gerard Gallant wanted to see how Braun did on his off side on the third pairing with Schneider and so far, that might be one of the best options for the third pairing to start the post season.
The Devils tried to get back into it but Alexandar Georgiev and the Rangers held them off and maintained that 3-1 lead right until the buzzer. A much needed win to kick off the rest of the week as they prepare to close up their regular season series with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The Rangers have the advantage of having minimal travel through the rest of the regular season which should hopefully keep them rested. If the Rangers can beat the Penguins on Thursday they should be in a better spot of locking up home ice advantage and can definitely start to thin about giving their star players some rest before playoffs.
Chris Feldman
Comments