Despite trailing in the first period, the Rangers held off the Penguins and came out on top by the score of 3-2. Not only did this win give the Rangers the upper hand on the season series with the Penguins, it leapfrogged them in the standings, sending Pittsburgh to third in the Metro. Although Pittsburgh got on the board first, the Rangers more or less controlled the game and thanks to a second period surge, were able to get on top of this one, keeping Pittsburgh’s chances to a minimum.
Aside from short lived sparks, the Rangers essentially dominated in the first period, so much so that the Penguins iced the puck probably close to ten times. Igor Shesterkin was playing up to his usual standard but to the Rangers dismay, so was Tristan Jarry. After a couple good Rangers chances, the Penguins were able to get on the board off a tip-in in front of the net. Courtesy of course, to a former New York Ranger in Brian Boyle. The Blueshirts shook it off and kept playing going, keeping Pittsburgh to just five shots on goal in the first period.
The Rangers would keep up the intensity in the second period and as they approached the halfway mark, finally got on the board. Mika Zibanjead fed Frank Vatrano, who continues to be red hot for the Rangers, who buried a wrist shot past Jarry to tie the game up at one. The MSG crew interviewed Braden Schneider during the intermission where he said he wants to just focus on being reliable defensively and the rest will kind of fall into place. That was certainly well exemplified in the second period as he made a beautiful defensive play on a Pittsburgh odd man rush and later in the period, would score to give the Rangers the lead. Artemi Panarin did what he does best, setting up Schneider perfectly to put that shot away.
Pittsburgh would start the third period shorthanded thanks to a little scrum with Ryan Lindgren at the buzzer of the second period. The Blueshirts power play would go to work and 66 seconds in, who else but Chris Kreider put it away to extend the Rangers lead, giving him his 45th goal of the season. I mean, you can’t say enough about the year Chris Kreider is having. Never hitting the thirty goal mark in his career and now he’s knocking on the door of fifty. Without his leadership on and off the ice, I’m not sure the Rangers have the sort of season they’re having.
Of course things can never be easy in New York, Andrew Copp took a bad offensive zone penalty later in the period giving Pittsburgh a power play in which Sidney Crosby would put one away to bring his team within one. With just under ten minutes to go in the game, the Penguins had more than enough time to get back in this game. Luckily, Shesterkin and the Rangers continued to shut them down. Pittsburgh had the chance to pull their goalie with about two minutes left, naturally causing Rangers fans to sit on the edge of their seats for two reasons. One in hopes the Penguins don’t tie it up and two, hoping Shesterkin gets the opportunity to score on the empty net.
Well frankly, no one on the Rangers could score on the empty net. What started as a selfless zone entry by Kreider, Zibanjead and Copp resulted in no one being able to get a clear shot on the empty net. Penguins players were pulling an Adam Fox, diving in front to block shots. Later, Barclay Goodrow had a partial breakaway and just missed the net, it was almost as though the puck wasn’t destined for the net. Thankfully for the Rangers, Pittsburgh couldn’t score either and they would walk out of PPG Paints Arena with their third win in a row.
NYR Game Day @ Detroit Red Wings
The Rangers have a quick turn around as they will take on the Red Wings for the second half of a back to back. The teams last played each other for a make-up game in the middle of February where the Rangers fell short in the shootout. The Rangers will look to keep their win streak going and to walk out of this one with two whole points. Alexandar Georgeiv will get his second start in the last three games as his tired teammates will rely on him to lead them to another win.
With the Rangers having played last night, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world for Gallant to use this as an opportunity to keep the whole team fresh. Perhaps replace Patrik Nemeth with Justin Braun and get Julien Gauthier and Greg McKegg back in the mix for guys who may need or want a rest. However, on the other hand the Rangers are now in second place, just a handful of points behind the first place Carolina Hurricanes. They could in theory, make a push for first to have the higher seeding but at the end of the day, the playoffs are such a wildcard, seeding doesn’t always matter.
That’s not to say by opting to switch guys out the Rangers are basically chalking up a loss. The mentality and expectation to win, regardless of who is in the mix is an intangible asset that sets apart contenders and champions. The whole point of adding all this depth to the lineup is to ensure that no matter what, the team is in a position to win. Ryan Strome, who didn’t play last night due to a lower body injury hasn’t officially been ruled out for today’s game but with playoffs on the horizon, I don’t see any reason to rush him back in.
Assuming he stays out, expect a similar lineup from last night:
Kreider - Zibanjead - Vatrano
Panrin - Copp - Hunt
Lafreniere - Chytil - Goodrow
McKegg - Motte - Gauthier
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Braun - Schneider
As for Detroit, the Red Wings haven’t played since they got blown out against the Penguins 11-2 Sunday Night. They are 2-6-2 in their last ten as they are beginning to fall further and further down the standings. While any potential playoff dreams are out the window for them, they’re playing for pride and the future. After losing by such a large margin on Sunday, you have to expect they’re going to come out with some fire in order to get back on track. They aren’t a particularly strong team in any areas but they do have a lot of young talent and a good leader in Dylan Larkin so you can’t take them lightly. As long as Georgiev can play his game and the Rangers control the offense like they did last night, they should have no problem coming out on top against the Red Wings.
Chris Feldman
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