Panarin leads the way in 4-0 win over the Devils
By Steve Paulus
The New York Rangers played the game that they needed to play. They jumped out to an early lead (very early) and built on it. They eased off the gas pedal in the second period, but picked up the effort in the third period and shut out the Devils for the second straight game. The had news? Boston beat the Islanders so the Rangers spent another night keeping up with the Bruins, but not gaining on them.
The playoff dream continues, but if the Bruins and Penguins keep picking up points, it will be impossible to catch them. No matter what, the Rangers are providing a plethora of reasons to be excited about the future.
While it was good win, the coach was not as happy. David Quinn was pleased with the first period though he said that they were opportunistic. Not so much after that. “I thought we got away with some stuff, our goalie had to make some big saves. I didn’t love the way things were going really, so we know we’ve got to be better. We were very fortunate with our opportunities…we certainly know we’re going to be in store for a very difficult game come Saturday.”
Using the eye test, it certainly didn’t look that bad and considering the score, the game was kind of a snoozefest after the first period. It’s clear that the coach is determined to not let the win go to his team’s head. The simple fact is the Devils were terrible, the Rangers limited their scoring opportunities and they held New Jersey to 16 shots and no goals.
Still, the advanced stats folks will point to the fact that the Devils had 53 shot attempts to 44 for the Rangers and 10 high danger scoring chances to only eight for the Blueshirts. Shesterkin gave credit for the shutout to his teammates saying “the guys did a great job, they blocked a lot of shots, the fans helped a lot, to help keep my concentration.”
Only 13 games left in this season, not enough in all likelihood as the Rangers fall victim to the consequences of the COVID-shortened season.
Here is a full video recap of the game: