The Rangers beat the Capitals 4-2 & are officially on a roll

The New York Rangers played one of their most satisfying games of the season, defeating the Washington Capitals in a game that they could easily lost just two weeks ago. They took the lead and held it with a dedicated forecheck, excellent goaltending, timely scoring and another outstanding penalty kill.  They overcame some horrific refereeing, a fluke goal and a classic Ovechkin slapshot to win.

The Rangers’ defense is getting better and better.  That despite the fact that they had a new third pairing of Tony Bitetto and Libor Hajek.  Trouba was a physical presence and K’Andre Miller continues to play like a veteran.  The Adam Fox-Ryan Lindgren tandem continues to excel as well.

David Quinn was pleased with the effort. “I like how hard we’re defending, good sticks in the d-zone. We did a good job managing the game…we had guys step up. we earned he win tonight. We deserved the two points.

Every game it seems like a new hero stands up for the Blueshirts and in this game it was Tony Bitetto who scored a highlight second period goal.  It was an unexpected result from an unexpected player.   There were no bad Ranger players in this game, it was a true team effort and they deserved the two points.

About the game

The Rangers needed to get off to a fast start, especially after sleepwalking through the first two periods on Monday and they did it.  Just 1:41 into the game with the top line on the ice, Ryan Strome deflected a Adam Fox shot from the blue line and they had the 1-0 lead.

It was a hardworking shift that kept the Caps pinned in their zone and it was Panarin who fed Fox who fired the wrist shot at the net.  The goal came after Shesterkin had made a clutch save on an Ovechkin breakaway just 40 seconds into the game. After the game Shestekin said that the save gave him confidence for the rest of the game.

That was the only scoring in the period as the Rangers outshot the Caps 15-8 . They had a 9-4 advantage in hits and were almost even on faceoffs, winning nine of 20.  It was as strong a period as the Rangers have played this season.

The Caps came into the game with the second best power play in the league and it got  little nervewracking when Mika Zibanejad took a hooking penalty against Tom Wilson.  They held the Caps to two shots and escaped the period unscathed.

The second period was more of the same with the Rangers’ Tony Bitetto drawing a tripping penalty against Garnet Hathaway, but the power play couldn’t score despite controlling play.   That’s when Tony Bitetto stepped up and channeled Paul Coffey, scoring his first goal in 112 games and almost three years.

It was the last thing that anyone would have expected, a tour around the Caps zone that ended with a backhand that eluded Vitek Vanecek with Julian Gauther setting up a screen in front.

After he scored he looked like the most surprised person on the ice.  It was a magic moment for the Island Park native.After the game he told reporters that his last three goals were disallowed and he was praying that it wouldn’t get called back.  He described how it happened, “After I wheeled the net, I got hit and for some reason the middle opened up…I was like, I’ll get the puck to the net…and see what happens. I thought let me just get this on net and regroup and next thing you know it went in…yeah, I’ll take it.”  Priceless.

After the power play failed on a Richard Panik high sticking penalty, the Rangers took a phantom too many men penalty.  Kakko Kaapo was exiting the ice and didn’t come anywhere near the puck, but the call was made anyway.  That’s playing with fire against an excellent power play, but they were able to kill it though play had to be stopped when Shesterkin was hit in the side of the head by an Ovechkin slapshot.

It looked like they would escape the period with the two goal lead, but it was not to be.  With 1:03 left in the period, Carl Hagelin scored when he was hit by a puck and it bounced high in the air and into the net.  Shesterkin tried to bat the puck away, but he missed.

It was a totally flukey goal and when Brett Howden was called for slashing with ten seconds left in the period, it was going to be a true test of the team’s resolve.  They went into the third period with a one goal lead, but with the Caps on a power play.

The Ranger penalty kill rose the occasion and killed their 14 straight penalty over three games. At the 7:55 mark the Rangers got their two goal lead back when Ryan Strome scored on a two on one with Artemi Panarin.  Kaapo Kakko, restored to that line, made an excellent play getting the puck to Strome who broke in with Panarin on the give and go.

It was Strome’s second goal of the game on another assist from Panarin.  With  12 minutes left in me and a two goal lead, things looked good for the Blueshirts.  Then, it was back to a one goal game when Ovechkin scored on a hard wrist shot from his “kitchen” taking the pass from Nicklas Lindstrom who had won the draw.   It was a bang bang play and came at the 11:01 mark.  The Rangers had nine minutes to hold the slim one goal lead.

With the goal, Ovechkin passed Mike Gartner into seventh place with 709 career goals.

The Caps mounted a spirited push, but it looked like it would get stalled at 11:59 when Brenden Dillon tripped Kaapo Kakko as he tried to get past him for an odd man rush.   Dillon got the tripping penalty, but the referees also called an embellishment penalty on Kakko, an absurd call that could be one of the worst of the season.

So,  no power play for the Rangers and eight minutes to kill and the Rangers did it. They held he Capitals to only one shot on goal the rest of the way, blocking two shots. They did dodge a bullet then Jakub Vrana hit the crossbar on a breakaway.

With 1:10 left in the game the Caps pulled  Vanecek and the Rangers had several opportunities.  Panarin fed Strome for a hat trick, but Strome missed the empty net, but Panarin then got the puck on a K’Andre Miller clear and fed Zibanejad who gave the puck to a wide open Pavel Buchnevich who had the empty net.

It was a very happy Rangers team that left the ice and you can see the confidence building. It’s what winning will do for a team.

My 3 Rangers stars of the game

Igor Shesterkin was the key to this game.  He made a stop 40 second into the game on an Alexander Ovechkin break in and was outstanding in the third period when the Capitals were pushing hard.  Although Ovechkin finally beat him with his patented slapper, Shesterkin stopped Ovechkin six other times. He had 31 saves and one of the two goals was an absolute fluke.

Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome share the second star because the two goals scored by Strome can attributed directly to Panarin.  The Breadman got the puck to Adam Fox for the shot that Strome deflected.  He then fed Strome on the give and go for the winning goal. Panarin did his most to get Strome the hat trick on a night when the center could have had four or five goals.

Tony Bitetto deserves the third star for his highlight goal and what it meant to the team. It broke open a tight 1-0 game and he was an inspiration to his teammates.  He’s a journeyman defenseman who is finally playing for the team of his dreams and he is making the most of it.

The official three stars

1. Ryan Strome
2. Igor Shesterkin
3. Artemi Panarin

East Division

Scores

The Sabres-Islanders and the Devils-Penguins games were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Standings

1. Boston             10 GP    7-1-2       16  pts.
2. Philadelphia    11 GP    7-2-2       16  pts.
3. Washington     11 GP   6-2-2        14 pts.
4. Pittsburgh        10 GP   5-4-1        11 pts.
5. New Jersey        9 GP     4-3-2       10 pts.
6. Rangers            10 GP   4-4-2         10 pts.
7. Buffalo               10 GP   4-4-2        10 pts.
8. Islanders            9 GP     3-4-2          8 pts.

What’s next

The Rangers next game on Saturday against the Devils has been postponed, so the Rangers will have to wait until Monday when they take on the Islanders at Madison Square Garden.