New York Rangers: Paul Carey fuels 4-1 win over Ducks
The New York Rangers won their third straight game, 4-1 over the Anaheim Ducks. Paul Carey had the best game of his career, scoring two goals in the win.
The New York Rangers continued their winning ways with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.
Paul Carey scored two goals, David Desharnais chipped in two assists, and Michael Grabner scored his team-leading 17th goal of the season. Henrik Lundqvist had an outstanding game, stopping 39 of 40 shots.
The Rangers opened the scoring at the end of a back-and-forth first period. Desharnais broke in down the right wing, fed a backhanded pass to Carey, who tapped in his first of the game.
Earlier, Lundqvist made several key saves to keep the game scoreless, including a breakaway save on Rickard Rakell.
The Rangers picked up where they left off in the second period. Kevin Hayes received a nice cross-ice pass and scored near side to make it 2-0. Nick Holden recorded his second assist of the game on the goal.
The Ducks kept the pressure up, but Lundqvist shut the door. Carey buried another goal at 13:00 to make it 3-0.
Ondrej Kase spoiled Lundqvist’s shutout bid in the third period, but Michael Grabner answered back. There was a brief review of Grabner’s goal before referee Wes McCauley’s theatric announcement that it stood.
Notes and Analysis
The New York Rangers executed their game plan to perfection Tuesday night. With the return of Mika Zibanejad balancing out the lines, the Rangers’ speed was on display up and down the lineup.
Highlighted by the success of the fourth line of Paul Carey, David Desharnais, and Jimmy Vesey, the Rangers had the better of the play for much of the game. The Ducks had several good chances early, including Rakell’s breakaway, but they couldn’t beat Lundqvist. In return, the Rangers took over the game for the second half of the first period and most of the second.
Paul Carey has posted a multi-goal/point game for the first time in his NHL career.
— NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) December 20, 2017
The Rangers had the momentum all game long despite the edge in shots going in the Ducks favor. Whether it was simply score effects leading the Ducks to fire more pucks on net or not, many of their attempts were harmless shots from the point. Lundqvist had an easy workload later in the game but still had to make several amazing saves.
The story of the game was the dominance of the fourth line was the story of the game. Carey’s two goals represent 40% of his career total. Desharnais and Vesey combined for three assists, and they consistently flustered the Ducks’ top line. Carey’s first goal came on a lackluster backcheck by Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf.
Three stars of the game
Paul Carey
The New York Rangers’ fourth-line left winger had the best game of his career thus far. His two goals bring his career total to five, and he had several good chances at a hat trick. He was playing with confidence at both ends of the rink, controlling the puck well and finding the open areas.
It’s probably not in the Rangers’ best interest to keep Carey on the team long-term and expecting nights like Tuesday often. However, he’s making a strong case to stay in the lineup.
Henrik Lundqvist
Lundqvist had another excellent game, bringing his season save percentage back up to .920. Although Kase’s third period goal spoiled his shutout bid, Lundqvist was nonetheless remarkable at several points on Tuesday night.
The first period was his strongest, as he made multiple saves on high-danger chances. His reflexes were on full display all game long. With continued showings like this, Lundqvist looks 25 again and primed to continue carrying the Rangers to wins.
David Desharnais
Desharnais had one of his best games of the past month. He had primary assists on both of Carey’s goals and thrived against the Ducks’ top line. The turnaround in play was sharp, as his performances centering the Rangers’ own top line in Zibanejad’s absence were less than stellar.
Next: Setting realistic expectations for Jimmy Vesey
The grinding, hard forechecking style alongside Carey and Jimmy Vesey seemed to work nicely for Desharnais. If the Rangers can continue getting strong contributions from their depth forwards, they look safe to keep pace in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division.