I won’t lie; this one is a little hard to recap. For most of the game, it was a structured slog by two defensively sound teams with solid netminders. Then all heck (this is a family site) broke loose. When the smoke cleared, the Rangers emerged with a 4-3 victory in OT over the Canucks, to go 4-0 on this long road trip. (What? You thought the “trip” in the headline referred to the no-call on Kreider? Don’t you know I have petty Rangers’ bias?)
Anyway, let’s talk about the good (Igor in OT, oh my!), the bad (sloppy penalties), and everything in between (Trip Advisor)
THAT’S GOOD!
OT OG.
For the most part, I thought it was the Rangers defense primarily responsible for keeping the Canucks at bay. Igor was fine, but really, it was the defensive style of the game that kept it close. However, Igor’s play in the overtime period stands in the pantheon of his most incredible sequences. (A bold statement, but I don’t think it’s recency bias).
The Canucks dominated most of the extra frame, and Igor made several solid saves on breakaways and general chaos. None more so than on Kuzmenko driving in, only to be initially stoned point-blank by Igor. if that wasn’t enough, Shesterkin then made an unreal glove save on a quick putback that had the forlorn Canuck looking up to the sky with an “I can’t believe that happened” smile.
I don’t even think we’ve seen vintage Igor yet to start this season, but he’s coming up huge in integral moments.
POWER PLAY
It wouldn’t be the Rangers if even positive aspects of their game come with a disclaimer. So, while all three regulation goals were on the power play, you must also include the terrible pass that led to Vancouver’s pivotal shorthanded goal in the third.
That being said, there’s no denying that the power play has been the driving strength of the offense in the early going, and last night was no exception. So much so that even after the deflating shorty given up to Myers, the Rangers responded with not one but TWO power-play goals to take the lead late in the game. Woven into that was the first goal of the year for Mika Zibanejad, which could be a catalyst for him starting to shine.
The Rangers are still looking to get most of their lines going (excluding the Bread line) because you can’t rely on your power play units to consistently bail you out. Still, it’s encouraging they’ve had this fast start because it’s an extremely valuable weapon to possess.
FIRSTS
You’re next, Chytil. Yes, the vibes are immaculate team-wise, but entering last night, we were still waiting for a handful of players to tally their first goals. Thankfully, both Mika and K’Andre (the game-winner) came through, and both were important, to say the least.
I wasn’t worried about either of them, but still, goals of this ilk could spark a player and, in turn, the rest of the offense.
Mika, we spoke of, but K’Andre’s was a thing of beauty. Credit Chris Kreider for being extremely patient skating in the zone after a Canucks player clumsily fell over his foot earlier (Okay, now I’m just pushing it). He waited until Miller came streaking in like the glider he is, and Key fired a laser one-timer that DeSmith had no chance to save. Sometimes Miller starts slow, too, but don’t discount the amount of offense he can bring if he heats up. His 43 points last year could end up being his floor if he continues to grow.
THAT’S BAD.
SLOPPY
You can blame the refs for some of this, but one negative aspect of the Rangers’ game this early season is the significant number of penalties they incur. Having a great penalty kill is vital (especially one that has shorthanded potential), but it’s still not ideal to test that trait so often.
It’s one thing to have penalties in the flow of the game, but too many of the Blueshirts’ infractions are for undisciplined or unnecessary reasons (See: Chytil’s covering the puck with his hand or our too many men on the ice penalty.).
Furthermore, they always seem to come at inopportune times, including frequently right after we score, which could always be a momentum killer.
CAN I GO NOW?
- As I said, the narrative changed so much in this game that it’s hard to pinpoint what’s “good” and “bad,” so this bullet point/in-between section is probably the best place to break down all that happened.
- Only one of the goals for both teams last night came at five-on-five even strength. That’s a testament to the defensive structure of both clubs. You can tell this strong start by Vancouver might be a true indication of a better season for them. I’m usually more critical of the Rangers rather than giving an opponent credit, but I thought the Canucks were formidable.
- All joking aside, that was probably a trip by Kreider, but it was perhaps seen as incidental in real time. I totally understand the frustration of Canucks fans (we would be, too), but I’m surely not going to apologize with the Rangers’ history of non-calls going against us.
- I thought last night’s game was a backstep for Wheeler, especially. He had a bad turnover in there and just looked slow.
- Panarin continues his fantastic start. Twelve points in eight games, and what I love about it is they are not “empty” stats. Sometimes, in hockey, a player can create the perception that they are being productive with secondary assists or goals in garbage time. However, he has easily been our most consistent forward, and a high percentage of his productivity has been in integral moments.
- Oddly, I didn’t think Fox had his best game for a good portion of the night, but in typical great player fashion, he showed up when needed the most and salvaged it with some big plays.
- Overall, this was a much-needed winning streak. Again, it’s early, but it was an inconsistent start for the Rangers at 2-2. To establish a defensive identity especially, as well as re-adopt that road warrior mentality, is a wonderful sign. There’s still plenty to fine-tune (even strength offense, mainly), but this reflects well on Laviolette and the coaching staff that the players are responding this way. An undefeated West Coast trip is never easy, so this has been fantastic to see, even under the haze of half-opened eyes and remnants of coffee coursing through our veins.
- The Rangers try to complete the undefeated trip Monday night in Winnipeg. The game is at 7:30 pm, so we made it, night owls!
