The Rangers are right back at it against the Avalanche following a big win in Chicago, giving them their longest win streak since November of 2015. The team will have a big test on their hands in the second half of a back to back after winning all of their last seven, which included a set of back to back games this past weekend. The Rangers have played a lot of hockey in a short amount of time and have found success as of late. Will they be able to keep the streak alive, will they continue to ride Georgiev or will they look to Adam Huska against one of the more talented teams in the league?
First, let’s recap last night’s action:
The Rangers got off to a quick start on a night where their star player was on the brink of a major milestone in landing his 500th career point. It only took just over a minute for Panarin to walk into the zone like he owned the place and give Jacob Trouba a pass who let a shot that was destined for the back of the net go. 1-0 good guys. The lead wouldn’t last long as Erik Gustafsson found his first of the season on a screened shot from the point 43 seconds later. It wouldn’t be much longer until Kirby Dach found the back of the net to give his team their first and only lead of the game.
The Rangers power play, which has also been hot as of late, was quick to act as Artemi Panarin found the back of the net off a snap shot just a couple minutes into the second period. The momentum sort of came to a halt after a scary moment when Chicago Blackhawk forward Jujar Khaira got caught with his head down and took a major hit from Jacob Trouba. The hit was clean but regardless, the situation was unfortunate. You never want to see a guy laying on the ice like that and thankfully, the report came out after the game that Khaira was responsive, hopefully meaning he will be okay. Stick taps and a couple fist bumps to the stretcher as Khaira left the game then play would carry on.
Trouba would eventually answer the bell following the hit as he would fight Riley Stillman as the second would remain a tied game heading to the third. Chris Kreider would get his 17th of the season on a tip-in power play goal to regain the Rangers lead early in the period. The Rangers kept their foot on the gas and twelve minutes into the third, Kevin Rooney, who is quietly becoming a valuable fourth line depth piece, would find the back of the net for his sixth of the season.
Artemi Panarin would get his second on an empty net with about three minutes to go and Ryan Reaves would set up Barclay Goodrow in front of the net with a minute twenty left to seal the deal at 6-2. The Rangers played a dominant third period and kept their composure throughout the game even after losing the lead in the first period. In addition to this being their longest win streak since 2015, it is also the most wins through a span of 24 games in franchise history.
Rangers Game Day vs. Colorado Avalanche 12/8/2021
Colorado, who are 13-7-2 on the season, are coming off a 7-5 win against Philadelphia on Monday and have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games. While Colorado may not seem as big a threat as they used to be from where they are in the standings right now, they’re only a couple points from behind second in their division. Most notably, the Avalanche are first in the league for goals for and as the pair of 7-5 wins in their last ten indicates, they can score goals. Which makes the debate on who should get tonight’s start all the more challenging. It almost seems like a lose-lose situation where you’re either asking Georgiev to play two games in 48 hours stretching across two different time zones to take on this high scoring team or you’re asking a kid who's never played an NHL game before.
Frankly, I think Georgiev will get the nod again. He’s made it clear that he needs to play in order to be successful and with Shesterkin out, the time for that is now. Not to mention, Colorado is a team that is in need of goaltenders themselves and on the chance that Georgiev has a great game, it could be a chance to showcase his talents to a team that could potentially benefit from them. In relation to that, the Avalanche are one of the worst teams in goals against per games played and if Panarin and the Rangers keep getting shots off the way they have been, things could work in their favor.
What also helps the Rangers out is the fact that the Avalanche are also pretty bad at faceoffs, hopefully making puck possession a fair game tonight. The Rangers will be tired, meaning the game plan shouldn’t be anything fancy and that any shot is a good shot. For the lineup, you’re likely looking at the same group as we’ve been seeing lately. Nils Lundkvist has been playing pretty confidently lately so it’ll be interesting to see if the coaching staff wants to keep him going or potentially give him a rest in this quick turnaround. Regardless, expect the usual:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Kakko
Panarin - Strome - Hunt
Lafreniere - Chytil - Gauthier
Rooney - Goodrow - Reaves
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Nemeth - Lundkvist
It’s not going to be an easy contest for the Rangers but it will be good to see what they can do in a game where they have to be tired. A win tonight would put the Rangers at the top of the Metro division for the first time this season as they are currently one point behind Washington. That could be just the spark this game needs and the motivation for this team to go out there, play a strong game and get another two points on home ice.
Chris Feldman
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