Welcome to the Rangers weekend wrap-up. Due to the quick back-to-back nature of the games, rather than going through them piece by piece, we’re going to highlight the overall good and bad of what transpired.
So let’s break down the good (Hats on Bread), the bad (scary endings), and everything in between (another tough back-to-back coming up.)
THAT’S GOOD!
THREE STARS OF THE WEEKEND
A couple of other Rangers could have made their case, as ten goals were scored cumulatively, and twelve Rangers had at least a point. However, we’ll focus on three that I feel deserved these spots, in no particular order:
Vincent Trocheck. (1G/4A)
Trocheck’s weekend probably gets overshadowed by Panarin’s hat trick, but you could make a case that he’s been the Rangers’ best player ever since Filip Chytil went down and he stepped into the 2C role. His game on Saturday in the 4-3 win over Nashville was one of the most well-rounded performances you’ll ever see. Taking care of all the intangibles you expect from a pest like Vinny T., but also a production dynamo. One goal, two assists, and even the Lindgren goal (which was correctly taken from him) was a direct byproduct of him crashing in front of the net to create the deflection. That game was so good the two assists he added against the Sharks almost became a ho-hum footnote. There’s been nothing ho-hum about this surge, though. It’s a primary driver of the Rangers ascent to the top of the league.
Artemi Panarin. (3G/1A).
Shockingly, Panarin didn’t have any points in the Saturday game against Nashville, but his performance yesterday was so transcendent it needs to be called out here. Not only did he get the hat trick as part of a four-point performance, but his all-around game was most encouraging. His forechecking and backchecking this season have been off the charts. More than that, though, his competitive level has taken on a life of its own. His one assist symbolized this most when he made a heads-up play first to keep the puck from leaving the zone. As if that wasn’t enough, he battled a few times with various Sharks players to keep them from clearing, eventually landing it on his stick for a slide over to Miller for his goal that made it 6-3 (ultimately the game-winner). Not to mention, now he’s scoring goals in various ways. His snipe will always be his bread and butter (sorry, I’m the worst), but now he’s even going down low to the dirty areas and sweeping in rebounds in hotly contested areas. If we get this complete version of Panarin all year and into the playoffs, he will easily wipe away the stigma of last year’s series against the Devils.
Johnny Brodzinski. (0G/4A)
The Johnny B story is a fun one of perseverance. Keep in mind, this isn’t some kid trying to make it. Brodzinski is thirty years old and has had a successful AHL career. (He’s at the top of the league in points scored this season). However, each time he’s gotten a cup of coffee here with the Rangers, it’s usually in a middling fourth-line role that only results in a little before he is sent back down to Hartford.
That’s why it’s so cool that he’s taking advantage of a significant opportunity right now, and ESPECIALLY this weekend. Two assists in each game, giving him four points for the season. He showed Laviolette so much that he changed lines after a horrendous first period against Nashville Saturday, putting him with more skilled players. Then, he was rewarded for that effort with a spot on the top-line as a RW with Mika and Kreider. Holy cow, did it pay off. He had another two assists on the night, including a secondary one where he baseball batted the puck out of the air to Kreider, who fed Mika for a sweet, top-shelf goal. That doesn’t even count a moment that didn’t get on the stat sheet where he deftly kept a puck in the zone at the blue line (It’s contagious!) to help set up another goal.
It remains to be seen what Brodzinski’s fate is once Chytil returns, but he’s undoubtedly making his case to stay, especially if he proves to be the catalyst to getting that top line to hum.
EVERYONE ELSE
As I said, those are the three stars, but it was a weekend with ten total goals and many contributors. TWELVE of the eighteen skaters had at least a point, including seven players with multi-point weekends.
Adam Fox, somewhat quietly, had four assists over the two games. I say quietly because you can still see he’s getting his legs out there, but the guy doesn’t know how NOT to get points. Kreider is still doing Kreider things, and even Mika is getting back to his scoring ways. Production is starting to come from every aspect of our team (FIVE even strength goals yesterday), including our defense led by Trouba (1G/2A) having his best year as a Ranger so far.
This was especially encouraging in a back-to-back where the Rangers defense, which has been a strength this year, had many lapses and breakdowns. It’s the sign of a great team that can overcome any valleys in their game and still find ways to win.
THAT’S BAD.
LOSING OUR WAY
I’m going to encompass this into one smaller section. It’s okay to point out the faults of a team as long as you bring it with context and perspective. However, we won’t harp on it when a team is 18-4-1. It’s impossible in a tough league to achieve perfection for sixty minutes, night in and night out. So let’s tackle this, realizing I’m still writing this with a smile on my face the size of our lead in the Metro.
All that said, the team still has a penchant for completely losing their focus, structure, and everything that has gotten them to this point. Too many times, they look slow and disengaged. To their credit, they are able to keep the SCORE from getting too far away and constantly battle back. However, that’s a dangerous game to play and won’t fly against more lethal scoring teams.
Even in short spurts, such as taking their foot off the gas when they went up 6-3 against the Sharks. It turned what should have been a game that coasted into the end, a chaotic finish.
The team still also takes too many penalties for my liking (although, to be fair, there were two in succession yesterday that were ridiculous. The Mika trip and the goaltender interference.). However, we get a little careless and reckless and need that to tighten up no matter how good our kill is.
Again, though, while these issues aren’t minor in concept, they are mere speedbumps on a road paved in gold so far.
CAN I GO NOW?
- Only one point for Lafreniere in these two games, but he’s still bringing the play and energy you want to see. It didn’t happen, but I thought Laf had a decent try at his penalty shot yesterday. The fact he drew it, though, is what we should be focusing on.
- These two games aren’t ones that either Igor or Quick will put on their resume, but both featured huge saves when the game warranted them. Count me as someone who loves that we are no longer a team that needs stellar goaltending to find a way to win.
- Did anyone see Gustafsson body slam that Shark with one hand yesterday? That was awesome and seemed to both stun and electrify the crowd.
- If K’Andre continues to get hot like this with his shot, we’ll be near unstoppable.
- It was just a beautiful and important goal by Cuylle yesterday. So many times, we get breakaways and don’t finish, so to see him do it was fantastic. I know he hadn’t scored in a while, but doing everything else he needs to do, and I think the best is yet to come.
- Speaking of not scoring, I was very happy for Lindy’s big game-winning goal against Nashville. He deserves to see some results show up on the score sheet besides his intangibles.
- The next game is at Ottawa on Tuesday night. That leads into a challenging back-to-back on the weekend at Washington, followed by a Sunday title against the impressive Kings. Let’s keep it going. LGR.
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