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New York Rangers: Special Teams prowess and other takeaways

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 06: Ryan Strome #16 of the New York Rangers celebrates his power-play goal at 8:49 of the second period against Jimmy Howard #35 of the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on November 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 06: Ryan Strome #16 of the New York Rangers celebrates his power-play goal at 8:49 of the second period against Jimmy Howard #35 of the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on November 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 06: Tyler Bertuzzi #59 of the Detroit Red Wings is stopped by the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on November 06, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Red Wings 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 06: Tyler Bertuzzi #59 of the Detroit Red Wings is stopped by the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on November 06, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Red Wings 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

1. This Team Has Heart

If there is one thing you can say about the New York Rangers through the first month and a bit of the 2019-20 regular season, then it is that they do possess character and heart.

And they have it in abundance.

While they will drop an absolute stinker of a game here and there, it is going to be par for the course this year, they have shown in a small sample size that they have what it takes to bounce back.

Let’s rewind a couple of weeks. After being completely outclassed by an elite team in the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on Oct, 27, the Rangers responded by going out and beating two Stanley Cup contenders in the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators.

Impressive stuff.

Then, after the lack of consistency that will be one of the biggest bugaboos for this team this season reared its ugly head in the loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Blueshirts showed some fight yet again last night.

It wasn’t a classic and it won’t go down as the team’s best game of the year, but the Rangers got through a stagnant first period before flexing their offensive muscles in the second.

And, after being severely tested at the end of the second period and for large chunks of the third, this bunch of young, raw prospects and established pros rolled their sleeves up, prepared for battle and got the job done.

Yes, they were pitting their wits against a woeful Detroit team that have now lost 12 out of their last 13 games but, given what unfolded on Monday and the average age of this team, they could have easily collapsed again.

But they hung on in there, grabbed a couple of insurance goals and secured what was an important win.

So, while there will be growing pains this year and there will be frustrating and sometimes ugly losses, at least we know this roster boasts heart and character by the bucketload.

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