New York Rangers: Zibanejad’s explosive return, other takeaways
Mika Zibanejad grabbed the headlines with a heroic return and Henrik Lundqvist also played a starring role as the New York Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
It was a perfect start to the Thanksgiving holiday for the New York Rangers who picked up their third straight win and things are finally starting to click for this team now.
Of course, the majority of the narrative from the game will revolve around Zibanejad who showed emphatically that he doesn’t do rust after returning in style.
But there were other stars of the game, too. Lundqvist stood on his head with 41 saves while Brendan Smith and Adam Fox both made big contributions.
And it was a hell of a first period for the Blueshirts who came out with real intent, and they refused to take their foot off the throat of the Hurricanes.
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Zibanejad needed just a few minutes before he went back to doing what he did best before injury struck, and those inside MSG were certainly thankful to see their franchise center back.
Brendan Smith inflicted more damage on Carolina with a thunderous slap shot, and Adam Fox completed a dominant opening period with his fourth goal of the year.
Artemi Panarin also continued wreaking havoc on the rest of the NHL with two assists, and the Rangers were absolutely rolling.
Carolina did fight back, as to be expected, and goals from Ryan Dzingel and Warren Foegele could have set the scene for an implosion from the Rangers.
However, these young Blueshirts seem to be learning their lesson and they did what they had to in the third period in order to grind out the game, while Lundqvist played his part in heroic fashion to ensure that the New York Rangers went into Thanksgiving on a high.
Let’s go through some of the biggest takeaways from a third straight win for an improving Rangers team…
1. Zibanejad back with a vengeance
It was a long time coming but we finally got to see Mika Zibanejad back on the ice on Wednesday and, boy, was it special.
After 13 games out with a neck injury that was clouded in mystique, Zibanejad was back where he belonged and he was reunited with Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich on the “KZB” line.
And it didn’t take long at all for Zibanejad to make his presence known, one-timing a terrific dish from Adam Fox past Petr Mrazek on the power play.
It was a sight to behold for everyone connected with the Rangers, and you could visibly see Zibanejad’s relief and delight to be back.
Overall, it was a solid night for the center who logged 17:25 minutes of total ice time, and he’ll only get sharper and better with the more games he gets under his belt as he works his way back up.
But it was a relief just to see Zibanejad back healthy and his goal was his 12th point of the year (five goals, seven assists).
With some huge games coming up as the Rangers continue to try and play themselves into playoff contention, Mika Zibanejad’s return will be a huge boost for his teammates and the franchise in general.
2. Lundqvist comes to the rescue again
From now on, I don’t want to hear from those who criticise Henrik Lundqvist when it comes to his legacy.
Because, and the answer is simple, he will go down as one of the greatest players in franchise history and there’s no argument.
Yes, he hasn’t won anything with this team but he’s come damn close and he continues to come up big for this franchise.
And a fine example of that came last night when the future Hall of Famer absolutely stood on his head against the Carolina Hurricanes.
There is no way the Rangers win this game without the heroic efforts of Lundqvist, who pulled off 41 saves including a handful of highlight reel stops.
The save of the night without a doubt, however, was the stunning stick save to deny Martin Necas in the second period which kept the Blueshirts’ lead intact.
He was unstoppable in the third period as the Rangers were outshot 17-5, and there was no other choice for First Star than Henrik Lundqvist, who has been selected as one of the game’s Three Stars in 397 of his 1,000 career games.
He now owns a 32-12-1 career record against the Hurricanes and he’s also won three of his last four outings with a 2.20 Goals Against Average and a .922 Save Percentage.
On this Thanksgiving, we should all be thankful to still have Henrik Lundqvist in a New York Rangers jersey.
3. Fox the real deal
He probably won’t win the Calder Trophy, or come close to it, but Adam Fox should be getting a lot of attention for how he is playing.
The rookie is an absolute stud and the New York Rangers may well have found their franchise offensive defenseman.
To say Fox has been impressive so far this year would be a severe understatement, and he’s elevated his game since being paired with the more defensively-minded Ryan Lindgren, which was a genius decision by Head Coach David Quinn.
And Fox carved out another strong game on Wednesday, tallying a goal and an assist as the Rangers made it three straight wins.
It was a sublime assist that led to Mika Zibanejad scoring on his return as Fox found his center with a fantastic backdoor pass.
And Fox showed a hell of a lot of technique and vision to plant himself in the right area to redirect Artemi Panarin’s shot beyond Petr Mrazek.
The Rangers have a star in Adam Fox and the defenseman is absolutely excelling in his rookie year.
4. Learning curves
It was a night of learning curves for the New York Rangers who are slowly starting to figure this whole thing out.
Let’s be honest here and admit that the Blueshirts would have lost this kind of game last year, and probably would have imploded in the same situation only a month or so ago.
However, after racing into a three-goal lead, the Rangers were in danger of letting the game slip after the Carolina Hurricanes got on the board twice in quick succession in the second period.
But, and helped by the heroic efforts of Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers found a way to dig in and see the game out for their third consecutive win.
It was another huge step in the right direction and it proved that this young roster are maturing and learning what it takes to win and win consistently in the NHL.
Then there was the bad as the Blueshirts took another too-many-men penalty – their third in just four games – and it led to a power play goal for the Hurricanes.
Rangers Head Coach David Quinn was seething after the game and took the blame for the mistake, promising that it won’t happen again.
Next. A lot to be thankful for. dark
Those kind of mistakes are more mental than anything else and, unfortunately, that will happen with this roster which features a lot of young and raw talent.
Errors like that will happen and they are incredibly frustrating but, overall, the New York Rangers are taking baby steps in the right direction and Wednesday night was another example of the progress that is being made.