For the first half of the game, it was really looking like the Rangers were going to have another disappointing outing for the second night in a row. However, thanks to the resilient effort and leadership from Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider, the Rangers woke up in the second and the goals finally came, sending the Coyotes running back to Arizona. It wasn't a perfect showing for the Rangers by any means but they came alive and took care of business which is so important. Not only that but you can't really blame them for the sloppy start considering they didn't get back to New York until like 3 a.m. last night.
Let's take it from the top. It wouldn't take long for the sloppy start to affect the Rangers as Liam O'Brien let one go to give the Coyotes an early lead just two and a half minutes in. Less than a minute later, Jacob Trouba let a rocket of a shot go from the slot that beat a screened Vejmelka to tie the game up at one. Andrew Ladd would break the tie for the Coyotes, off an abysmal defensive zone breakdown by the Rangers third pairing that went right through the legs of a stickless Igor Shesterkin. Patrik Nemeth got caught chasing Christian Fischer behind the net and by the time he realized that wasn't what he should be doing, his rookie partner was already trying to cover Fischer who was on the opposite side of the net, leaving Ladd all alone in a position he's not going to miss.
Now's a good time to talk about Patrik Nemeth, who is just not working out the way anyone hoped with the Rangers. I don't even want to go back and look at all the veteran defensemen who were free agents this offseason that would've been better investments than Nemeth. Far too often is he making mistakes that a veteran should not be making in the defensive zone. The most concerning part of all this is the Rangers, who are less than a season away from having to really start pinching pennies, have $2.5 million invested in him for the next three years. What makes it all the more frustrating is the fact that they gave him that contract with the idea in mind that they would likely move him at some point before that third year.
The more we see from Nemeth and the more underwhelmed we are with him and the more that contract becomes a problem. Especially now with all the Jakub Chychrun rumors circulating, we bring him onto this team, suddenly we're paying Nemeth two and half big ones to be our seventh defenseman at best. Jeff Marek reported on 32 thoughts last night that the Rangers have sent the Coyotes an offer for Chychrun that includes Vitaly Kravtsov. He also reported that the Coyotes have received at least one offer that meets their asking price of two former first round picks and an upcoming first round pick. If that offer is indeed the Rangers', you have to think it's Kravtsov, one of Chytil or Lundkvist, hopefully not one of Schneider, Miller or Othmann, and our 2022 first. If the other former first is one of Chytil or Lundkvist, that's a solid deal for the Rangers. Anything different becomes a tad concerning.
Now back to last night's game. Clayton Keller would give the Coyotes an insurance goal, making it 3-1 and sending Rangers fans through an absolute frenzy of a panic. Seriously, Rangers Twitter is a wild place when the team starts losing for more than one game in a row. Thankfully we haven't had much of that this season, something many fans seem to forget the second we start to underperform. Just over the halfway point of the game, the Rangers mental alarm clocks must've finally gone off as they completely turned the game around and picked up their play. In a span of about seven minutes, Chris Kreider got the party started, Julien Gauthier followed to tie it up, Panarin gave us the lead and Kreider scored again to tie his career high and give the Blueshirts an insurance goal.
Couple things to note from all that action. Chris Kreider is an absolute menace and is certainly proving to be worth the big extension he signed a couple seasons ago. The extension that left many fans concerned should no longer be the case. Kreider is not only having a career year but is hands down an intangible asset to this team. He may not wear a C on his chest but his leadership is absolutely a huge part of this teams success. The Julien Gauthier goal began with a beautiful breakout pass from Igor Shesterkin, who honestly might be better at handling the puck than some of the rostered defensemen on this team.
Lastly from the second period surge, you have to think that keeping Panarin on that top line with Zibanejad and Kreider is something to consider moving forward. With Kaapo Kakko missing last night's game, listed as day-to-day and Filip Chytil leaving the game with an upper body injury, also day-to-day, it may be worth experimenting with that all star first line. Not only did it seem to work pretty well last night but it gives Alexis Lafreniere a better opportunity on the second line with Strome and Goodrow. Lafreniere, who by the way needs to drop that new habit of taking bad penalties real quick.
To the third we go and it's another one of the Rangers leaders getting his second of the night in Jacob Trouba. Honestly, I'm starting to think the reason the Rangers don't have a captain is because they literally couldn't decide between Trouba and Kreider. While the majority of the team looked pretty bad to start this game, Trouba was the one really pushing to keep this team in it out of the gate. The Rangers took control over this one and on the power play halfway through the period, Chris Kreider completed the hat trick, giving him a new career high in goals and for a brief moment, leading the league in goals.
Unfortunately, the Capitals also played last night and Ovechkin found the back of the net twice so the two are still tied for first in the league with goals. Nevertheless, Kreider is having an unreal year and you love to see it. The Rangers are back at it on home ice against the LA Kings tomorrow night. We'll keep an eye out for updates on Kakko and Chytil to see if they'll be available but it's likely we'll see Morgan Barron and Tim Gettinger get back in the mix. Hopefully the Rangers get a good night's sleep and rest up on this Sunday and are ready to go for their rematch with the Kings.
Chris Feldman
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