And just like that, the Rangers are two points behind the Devils for second and five behind Carolina for top of the Metro. It wasn’t a great game defensively and the power play still had some struggles but for the most part, the Rangers got exactly what they needed out of this game. A pair of points, a good chunk of goals and another brilliant showing from Igor Shesterkin who is really playing some of his best hockey as of late. Not only did the Blueshirts put up a surplus of goals, but they got contributions from six different skaters, including another one for Mika March. A fun little tidbit from “Grav” on Twitter: Mika Zibanejad now has 46 goals and 45 assists, totalling up for 91 points throughout 71 career games with the Rangers in the month of March. What an insane stat.
Nevertheless, the Rangers wasted no time as Filip Chytil cashed in for his 22nd of the season to make it a 1-0 game. Chytil chyting… sorry.. Up again as we get closer to the playoffs is certainly something you love to see as he now has goals in back to back games. Vladimir Tarasenko soon followed with a nice tip-in in the slot off a beautiful play by Braden Schneider to make it 2-0. Then 70 seconds after that, Patrick Kane almost pulled off a beautiful move to make it three and just as I asked aloud “are we putting on a clinic tonight?” Kane finished on a pretty passing play with his linemates to rip one past Hutchinson to make it three.
While that three minute span was quite impressive, none of it would have likely been possible if it wasn’t for the strong goaltending of Shesterkin as Columbus had a good amount of grade A chances right out the gate. The lackluster defensive efforts would unfortunately hang around as Kirill Marchenko would get the Jackets on the board on the Jackets first man advantage, thus ending a Rangers seven game streak of not allowing a shorthanded goal. Not for nothing, and granted I haven’t spent a ton of time watching Columbus games but I’m a bit surprised Marchenko’s name hasn’t come up more when the conversation of notable rookies comes around as this was his 20th of the season.
With about 30 seconds to go in the period, Johnny Gaudreau brought his team within one as a result of another defensive lapse by the Rangers. Head Coach Gerard Gallant certainly wasn’t happy with his team who allowed the second worst team in the league to make this a game after the Rangers dominated a quick three goal lead. It was a much quieter period until there was about three minutes left in the second when the Rangers went back on the power play. Artemi Panarin who *checks notes* I said was a lock to score against the Jackets, found the back of the net to show some kind of life for the Rangers on the power play. There’s still a lot of work to be done on that end in the final stretch here but glad to see them go at least 50% on the power play in this one.
To the third we go where Mika March would continue as Zibanejad let another one of his slap shots go to make it 5-2 with about five minutes to go for his 38th of the season. Safe to say he’s definitely on pace for a 40+ goal season as he’s currently second on the team in points with 81. Columbus pulled the goalie super early to try and climb back in this one, setting the stage for a perfect opportunity for Shesterkin to go for the empty net. However, Vincent Trocehck, who hadn’t scored in quite a while needed one and very soon into the attempt, sent a long shot into the back of the net to make it 6-2.
That was enough to seal the deal for this one as the Rangers would head out of the Garden with a pair of points to bring them closer to the top of the Metro Division. A nice moment at the end of the game as the Rangers made sure to shake hands with official Marc Jeannette who likely called his last game at the World’s Most Famous Area as he plans to retire next month. Always love to see classy moments like that, especially as the Garden Faithful gave him a noticeable cheer as he got off the ice.
The Rangers are right back at it Thursday Night in Newark as they’ll not only look to put some pressure on the Devils to hopefully take second place from them, but could get their first look at their first round playoff matchup. They definitely have some work to do to tighten up defensively and continue to improve on the power play but for the most part, things are looking pretty good for the boys in blue.
Chris Feldman
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