Can the Rangers build on a big road win & start a winning streak?
The entire New York Rangers universe breathed a sigh of relief when they stopped the bleeding with a dramatic overtime win over the Sabres on Thursday. That’s all just a distant memory when the Blueshirts take to the Garden ice tonight against the Penguins. It’s the first of a three game homestand and the Rangers need to get a streak going.
There are many positives to build on. Alexis Lafreniere’s first NHL goal was the highlight of the season. K’Andre Miller is fast proving that he is an NHL defenseman. The Rangers are allowing 2.71 goals per game, their lowest average in four years. They are getting contributions from the bottom six and they might have finally hit on a lineup that works. Artemi Panarin continues to be an elite scorer and Ryan Strome has become involved. Mika Zibanejad is getting a lot of chances. Pavel Buchnevich has become the player we hoped he would be.
4-3-1 . MSG Network. Saturday, January 30. 95. 7 PM. 92. 2-4-1 .
There are also numerous warning signs. They have scored only 18 goals in seven games. They have blown leads in four straight games including two in the third period. Tony DeAngelo has yet to get a point. Jack Johnson has not played well. The loss of Fiilp Chytil, third line center, was seen as a crushing blow to the team. They have the third worst record in the entire NHL.
The good news moving forward is that in the new divisional format, a winning streak can solve all problems. With two straight games against the Penguins, if the Rangers sweep, they will tie the Penguins record and be back in playoff contention. After Pittsburgh, they host Washington for one game and if they are lucky, the Caps will be without Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Samsonov due to COVID-19 protocols.
If home ice means anything, the Rangers will play seven of the next eight games at Madison Square Garden. With no fans, the only real benefit as the home team is getting the last change and a slight edge in the faceoff circle. After several losses, Chris Kreider has mentioned how hard it is to win on the road, so with a lengthy home stand, it’s time for Kreider and the Rangers to take advantage.
About the Rangers
The Rangers made a number of roster moves on their day off, moving Colin Blackwell, K’Andre Miller and Kaapo Kakko to the taxi squad, purely for salary cap purposes. The one move that was significant was that they returned Matthew Robertson to the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL from the Hartford Wolf Pack training camp.
The WHL got approval to resume play in the province of Alberta, meaning that the five teams based in that province including the Oil Kings, will start their season on February 26. As Robertson will have to go through a quarantine when he returns to Alberta, the Rangers moved him now. What it does mean is that they want Robertson to play a fourth season in junior hockey.
Despite the fact that Igor Shesterkin got the win on Thursday, Alexandar Georgiev will get the start tonight.
In net tonight for #NYR. pic.twitter.com/ajQmV90Yxp
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 30, 2021
That will be the only lineup change for the Rangers as Coach David Quinn is sticking with what worked. With Lafrenière off the goal-less schneid it’s now time for Mika Zibanejad to start scoring. He had some excellent chances against Buffalo and was flat out robbed by Linus Ullmark in the third period.
The top six scorers on the Rangers are Panarin, Buchnevich, Adam Fox, Phil Di Giuseppe, Filip Chytil and Colin Blackwell. It’s not necessary to point out which names are missing from that list.
Colin Blackwell has made quite a statement in his three games. He has moved up from the fourth line to right wing with Panarin and Strome. He has a goal and two assists, all at even strength, with a plus/minus of +3. He has the best possession numbers on the team at 5v5 with a Corsi For percentage of 66%. When Blackwell was on the ice, the Rangers had 31 shot attempts for with only 16 against.
About the Penguins
The Penguins front office is in turmoil and the question is whether that will affect the team on the ice. General Manager Jim Rutherford suddenly resigned this week with no notice, “shocking” owner Mario Lemieux. There was no reason given for the 71 year old’s sudden announcement though there was a lot of speculation.
There was a rumor that Rutherford was working on a trade involving Kris Letang that was nixed by ownership, but that was denied by the Penguins. Rutherford was the architect of two Stanley Cup championship teams in Pittsburgh and he will be missed.
Since sweeping their two game series against the Rangers last weekend,the Pens dropped two games to the Boston Bruins, 3-2 in overtime and 4-1. Their 4-3-1 record is deceptive. Of their four victories, they have won only one game in regulation with one win in overtime and two by shootout.
The Penguins have been playing well against the Rangers, with points in nine straight games (6-0-3). They’ve also played well at the Garden, losing only once in their last ten games in New York.
The two hottest Penguins against the Rangers are Evgeni Malkin who has seven goals and 17 points in his last 13 games at the Garden. Jared McCann has scored in three straight games against the Blueshirts and have a five game point scoring streak against New York.
This season 1-0-1
Two games versus the Penguins, two losses and one point.
January 22 – Penguins 4, Rangers 3 (Shootout)
The Rangers have played the Penguins twice this season. The Penguins won the first match in Pittsburgh, 4-3 in a shootout. The Rangers took a 3-1 lead by scoring three goals in three minutes in the second period, including goals24 seconds apart by Adam Fox and Kaapo Kakko.
Igor Shesterkin had no puck luck. The Penguins second goal, by Jared McCann was actually pushed into the net by Ryan Lindgren. Teddy Blueger tied the score in the third period when a shot from the point missed the net and bounced right to Blueger who had a wide open net.
In the shootout Artemi Panarin scored for the Blueshirts while Bryan Rust and Kris Letang scored for Pittsburgh.
January 24 – Penguins 3, Rangers 2The Rangers blew a 2-1 lead in the third period when Shesterkin gave up a stinker of a goal to McCann, a bad angle shot from the boards that the goalie should have stopped. The Blueshirts had taken the lead on a goal by new lineup addition Colin Blackwell and Ryan Strome’s first goal of the season.
Jake Guentzel scored the game winner with only 1:31 left when he was left unchecked for a shot from the slot. It was an awful defensive breakdown as the Penguins got into the offensive zone unimpeded and no one picked up Guentzel. It was a lost point for the Rangers in a season when every point will count.
3 keys to winning
- Score early and often – The Penguins are allowing 3.75 goals per game, third worst in the NHL. They have been outscored in the first period 14-6. The Rangers need to jump on them early and take the lead, then hold it.
- Stop the top line – Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust are the top line for the Penguins and have scored almost one third of their goals (7 of 22). It may seem obvious, but stopping the Crosby line is a key to beating the Penguins.
- Win the special teams battle – Uncharacteristically, the Penguins are 22nd in the NHL on the penalty kill compared to last season when they were 10th. Their power play is also less efficient this season. The Rangers aren’t setting the world on fire with their special teams play, but winning that battle would be important.
About the game
Puck drop is 7pm and the game will be televised on the MSG Network (don’t worry, the Knicks are idle). The radiocast is on ESPN 98.7 FM.
Join the live thread during the game here at Blue Line Station. The conversation will go live just before gametime and it will be your chance to talk to your fellow Ranger fans during the game.
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