New York Rangers: Special Teams prowess and other takeaways

It wasn’t perfect but the New York Rangers did what they had to do in order to get the job done after beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

After dropping an absolute stinker of a game to the Ottawa Senators on Monday, it was all about bouncing back and winning for the New York Rangers against another rebuilding team.

That’s exactly what they did and, although it was a performance that still had flaws, the Blueshirts have now won four out of their last six games and are showing gradual improvement.

Following a scoreless first period, the Blueshirts jumped out to a three-goal lead in the middle frame and they looked to be in cruise control.

Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Strome both continued their recent hot streak with a goal apiece, while Chris Kreider grabbed his third tuck of the year.

However, Valtteri Filppula got Detroit on the board and the Red Wings outshot the Rangers in the third period 16-7.

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The Rangers were very much on the ropes but they gave themselves some breathing room thanks to Greg McKegg‘s first goal as a Blueshirt, before Artemi Panarin completed the scoring to extend his point streak to six games (three goals, five assists).

Henrik Lundqvist also fared well in his first start in four games, stopping 35 of the 36 shots flung in his direction and he stood on his head when Detroit was heaping on the pressure.

Again, it wasn’t the perfect win and there are certainly areas to improve on for this young Rangers team who are still finding their way in 2019-20.

But, given what transpired on Monday against the Ottawa Senators, it was important that the Blueshirts bounced back by any means possible and that is a hallmark of a good team.

And, on that note, let’s delve into our biggest takeaways from the New York Rangers’ 5-1 success over the Detroit Red Wings…

2. Special Teams Come Up Tops

During our preview of this matchup we pointed out that winning the Special Teams battle would be key to beating Detroit.

And so it proved.

The Red Wings entered the contest with the worst penalty kill in the entire NHL (68.6), and they were not much better on the power play either with the 26th ranked man advantage unit (13.2).

You have to take advantage of those weaknesses and the Rangers certainly did that to perfection last night.

They took the lead at 4:25 in the second period with their first power play of the night, Tony DeAngelo arriving at the backdoor to pot home his fifth goal of the year following a smart pass from Brendan Lemieux.

Detroit’s awful penalty kill continued to stink in the second period too with Adam Fox‘s wrister from the point bouncing off Ryan Strome and into the net.

The Rangers were not done there when it came to their prowess on special teams, either. With the Red Wings on the power play in the third period, Greg McKegg got the puck in his own zone, charged up the ice, wristed a shot off Jimmy Howard before following up his own rebound for his first goal as a New York Ranger.

It was also the Blueshirts’ third shorthanded goal this season, which is ranked third in the NHL in that category.

The Rangers also only allowed five shorthanded shots on two power plays and their ability to come up with the goods on special teams played a vital role in this win.

3. DeAngelo – Offensive Stud?

Brady Skjei was always considered to be the next offensive juggernaut on the blueline for the New York Rangers, although he hasn’t quite lived up to that billing as of yet.

One player who has been trying to fill the void left by former Captain Ryan McDonagh, however, is Tony DeAngelo.

The No. 19 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft broke out last year with 30 points (four goals, 26 assists), and he’s carrying on where he left off this season.

Through 13 games, DeAngelo has five goals and six assists for 11 points and he added another two-point night against the Detroit Red Wings last night.

He got the Rangers on the board with his second power play goal of the year, and he claimed a secondary helper on Chris Kreider’s tuck in the second period.

It was another demonstration of the offensive surge DeAngelo is on right now, and he has certainly elevated his game to another level.

Every successful team needs a puck-moving defenseman who can provide offense, and DeAngelo certainly ticks that box for the Blueshirts.

He’s only going to improve too given that he’s still only 24-years-old, and he seems to be thriving in Head Coach David Quinn’s system.

Of course, the blueliner could find himself used as trade bait in order to help the Rangers address other needs on their roster as mapped out by our own Steve Paulus here.

But, if the New York Rangers do decide to keep hold of Tony DeAngelo then they may just have the high-end offensive defenseman they’ve been craving.

And let’s finish this segment with a little nugget too; Tony DeAngelo is the first Rangers defenseman who has recorded five goals in the team’s first 13 games of a season since the legendary Brian Leetch accomplished the feat in 1988-89.

Not bad company to keep at all.

4. Panarin, Strome Getting It Done

One concern about this team through the first month and a bit of the season has been secondary scoring. Or a lack of it.

Those fears were only elevated after Mika Zibanejad went down with a lower-body injury, and the franchise center has now missed four straight games.

But fear not (for now at least) because two Rangers are stepping up to the plate and getting the job done.

One we expect to produce the goods while the other player in question is arguably silencing a few of his doubters.

Let’s start with Artemi Panarin. The Russian stud is of course expected to put up points on a night-to-night basis, so we shouldn’t be surprised by the fact that he recorded a two-point night against the Detroit Red Wings.

But Panarin, who is now riding a six-game point streak (three goals, five assists) has gone about his business quietly and efficiently despite being moved up and down the lineup.

He leads the team in goals (seven), points (14), power play points (five), power play goals (three) and is third on the team in assists (seven).

Panarin has come exactly as advertised and his all-round game in both zones has also been hugely impressive.

And then there is Ryan Strome. Some argued that the center couldn’t maintain his hot start to life in The Big Apple but, so far, Strome has silenced those critics.

He has been a key figure for the Blueshirts through 13 games and he’s second on the team in points with 13 (five goals, eight assists).

With Zibanejad out, Strome has taken on a bigger role and he’s thrived with added responsibility, posting a six-game point streak (four goals, five assists) from Oct. 20 to Nov. 2.

He has also now registered a multi-point game in four of his last six contests after potting a goal and tallying an assist against the Red Wings last night.

Both Strome and Panarin have been outstanding for the New York Rangers and they will continue to be relied upon as two of the franchise’s main offensive threats along with Mika Zibanejad once he’s healthy.