The New York Rangers will head into the all-star/what would have been olympic break with their heads held high, winning their last two games to give themselves a record of 30-13-4. In one of their more exciting games as of late, despite a shaky first period, the Rangers skated right along side the Florida Panthers, playing hard and determined and came out with a 5-2 win against one of the most offensive teams in the league. One thing became clear last night and that was if these two teams face each other in the playoffs, it's going to be one heck of a playoff series.
The Rangers got off to a quick start thanks to a strong forecheck from Ryan Reaves, throwing a couple big hits. 35 seconds in, Mika Zibanejad tried feeding Reaves who was headed hard to the net however, Gustav Forsling got his stick on the pass which redirected it right into the back of the net. Zibanejad goal, 1-0 Rangers. As the period progressed, the Rangers regressed as the Panthers absolutely dominated the offense, outshooting them 13-3 at one point. Around the halfway point of the period it was former Ranger Anthony Duclair, who is just having an outstanding year, knotting this game up at one. Honestly, it's a shame things didn't work out for Duclair in New York and while it took a couple different teams to really find his place, couldn't be happier for the guy that he really found his footing in Florida.
To the second period we go where the Rangers slowly but surely started to turn it back up a notch. However, it would still be Florida that struck next, thanks to Sam Reinhart finishing off a Aleksandr Barkov shot that rung off the post. At this point, I'm sure we're all sick and tired of reading or hearing complaints about Libor Hajek but this game has to be the one for the Rangers coaching staff to say enough is enough. On the Duclair goal, Hajek made the wrong decision to almost go into a full sprint into a crowded slot, leaving Duclair wide open on the right side. Similar thing on the Reinhart goal, he cheated too much on his defensive partners side, leaving Reinhart all the room to walk in and get to the net to put the rebound away. These are careless mistakes that an NHL defenseman should not be making. When everyone's healthy, the third pairing needs to be Schneider-Jones, no question.
Thankfully, Florida wouldn't hold the lead for too long as Alexis Lafreniere came from behind the net, cutting in front of Spencer Knight to sneak a backhander through his legs to tie the game up at two. It's unfortunate that Lafreniere is heating up right before the break but you have to think if he can just stay on that top line with Zibanejad and Kreider his confidence will keep growing and we'll see more great plays like we did on that goal. We're all aware at this point of the Rangers struggles at 5 v 5 and that's something the ESPN broadcast crew kept talking about, saying how the Rangers will need their power play to beat this Panthers team. Well, they weren't totally wrong.
With just over two minutes left in the second, Ryan Strome fed a beautiful pass over to Kreider who put it away to give the Rangers a one goal lead. At this point, the Rangers are playing well, the games intensity is picking up and we have a hockey game on our hands. A couple scrums throughout the second period would build up heading into the third and about five minutes in, Ryan Strome, who took a questionable hit from Mason Marchment back in the second, dropped the gloves and settled the score with Marchment, winning the fight and getting the energy going. Moments like this make ya love the sport a little extra as they're seen talking in the penalty box after. Bad hit, fight it out, move on.
Ten minutes of back and forth hockey would pass and as the Rangers once again found themselves on the power play, Chris Kreider once again found himself ending it prematurely as Mika Zibanejad fed him with such a perfect pass, Kreider didn't even need to move his stick in order to score the goal. 4-2 Rangers. The Panthers would pull the goalie a couple minutes later in attempts to climb back in this one but in the games final minute, Artemi Panarin found himself on a two-on-one with Kreider that ended up a one-on -one as Kreider, being the humble leader he is, skated away to let Panarin get the goal instead of taking it to complete a hat trick. Another moment that makes you love this team and love the sport. It's not about any individuals, it's about the team and that's exactly what Kreider showed on that final play.
The Rangers got a much needed win and from the smiles on their faces and Kreider's reaction as he came out for star of the game, the vibes with this team could not be higher. This team is off to an amazing season and have earned themselves a well deserved break. They will have two weeks to rest up and for some, heal up, as they will look to get right back to work against Boston on the 15th as the preparations for playoffs become more and more of a factor.
Chris Feldman
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