The Rangers come out on top with a pair of wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning, including a New Years Eve shootout win as well as a shutout win at home. Beating the defending back to back Stanley Cup Champs twice in a row is certainly one way to silence the "Rangers can't compete with playoff teams" crowd. On the one hand, the Lightning were without three of their top players in the first game but on the other, they were close to a full line up this afternoon and the Rangers were without Artemi Panarin. The Rangers didn't have the greatest game Friday night but played a near perfect game this afternoon and are off to a. great start in 2022.
Goodrow Strikes Twice Against Lightning in Shootout Win
The Rangers got off to a shaky start on their NYE showdown with the Lightning, getting outshot 10-3 in the first period. After failing to convert on a power play six minutes in, the Blueshirts took a couple penalties, the second one resulting in a Steven Stamkos power play goal to put the Lightning up 1-0. The refs stayed active through this one as both teams would exchange a pair of penalties in the second, one of which would benefit the Rangers.
About five and a half into the second, Alexis Lafreniere found the back of the net on a partially unassisted goal. I say partially as Lightning goaltender Brian Elliott essentially gave Lafreniere a direct pass prior to the puck crossing the line. The story for the rest of the game would be Barclay Goodrow, the former Bolt forward who received his second Stanley Cup Ring prior to the game as well as a welcome back from Amaile Arena. Only thing to top all that would be to score a couple against your former team. On a Kaapo Kakko interference call, Goodrow would snag a shorthanded goal off McKegg's first assist of the season to give the Rangers their first lead of the night.
Ross Colton would knot this one up for the Lightning off a slap shot with a couple minutes left in the third. Another penalty filled third and a goal from each side would send this game to overtime. Barclay Goodrow got his second of the night on a tip in and Corey Perry found the back of the net with less than two minutes to go. The Blueshirts kept Tampa from getting any pucks to the net in overtime but only got two off themselves. To the shootout we went and in the back half of the third round, it was Mika Zibanejad finding getting one past Elliott to secure once last Rangers win in 2021.
Overall, the pace of the game was a little all over the place and the questionable officiating certainly hurt the momentum at times. The Rangers didn't play a perfect game by any means but like we keep saying, good times find ways to win and as long as the wins keep coming, there isn't too much to worry about. There's no question the Rangers benefited from Tampa being shorthanded but it wasn't't the defining reason. The team battled their way through and Goodrow picked a great time to have a night.
Zibanejad Hat Trick, Shesterkin Shutout, Rangers Win 4-0
Head Coach Gerard Gallant said his New Years resolution was to win hockey games and so far so good in 2022! The Rangers were right back at it against the Bolts, this time without Artemi Panarin who was a last minute addition to the COVID protocol list. Patrik Nemeth, also missed this one due to personal reasons which brought Tim Gettinger and Zac Jones back into the mix. The Lightning got their missing guys back in the mix which posed a real test for the Blueshirts against what Lighting Head Coach Jon Cooper said was their most healthy line up in a while.
Night two of Rangers vs Lightning hockey got off to a way better start with high intensity hockey, back and forth play chances going either way. Mika Zibanejad must've made scoring goals his New Years resolution as he got off to an explosive start with back to back power play goals in the middle of the first period. Just a couple minutes after his second goal, Ryan Strome found the back of the net as well to put the pressure on Tampa with an early three goal lead.
Despite outscoring the Bolts in the first by a good margin, the Lightning peppered Shesterkin, outshooting the Blueshirts 18-10 in the first period. Plenty of Igor chants filled the Garden over the course of the afternoon as 31 in blue gave his best 30 impression, making incredible saves left and right, standing on his head to keep his team in it. Tampa kept their foot on the gas, keeping the shots and the chances coming throughout the second. Toward the end of the second, Zibanejad would complete the hat trick as Kreider completed his hat trick of assists on the night, putting his tally up to eleven on the year.
The Rangers wouldn't get many more shots let alone chances throughout the night and they didn't need them. They played a shut down style of hockey and kept control of the game they deemed theirs early on. It's absolutely a good sign for the Rangers that one, they can still perform at a high level without their star forward and two, Mika Zibanejad is setting himself off on a little streak and finding ways to light the lamp again. Shesterkin would end the night with a 38 save shutout, his most active shutout in his young career.
The circumstances resulting in Zac Jones finally getting a chance obviously aren't the most ideal and whatever Patrik Nemeth is dealing with hopefully ends up okay. However, Jones looked pretty good out there aside from that one play where Brayden Point more or less undressed him in his own zone. Welcome back to the big leagues, Zac. There were several moments throughout the night where he looked incredibly confident in his strides with the puck and generated some offensive chances. The Rangers will have a quick turnaround as they host the Oilers in the back half of a back to back tomorrow night at the Garden.
Chris Feldman
Comments