Important points gained as the Rangers find a way to win

Notes on the game

The Rangers have won four road games this season, the only team in the NHL to do that.  Last season it took them 21 games to win four games on the road.

The Rangers won the four games by allowing only five goals. They needed it since they scored only 11 goals themselves.

Although the power play scored, their first three tries were ineffective.  The loss of Kakko and Strome has been felt, without them the power play is predictable inevitably trying to set up Zibanejad for the one-timer.

Just when everyone was wondering why Chris Drury paid all of the money to Barclay Goodrow, he came through with the game winner.  If he continues to do things like this, it will be money well spent.  His versatility has been an asset with the team shorthanded as well.

The acquisition of Sammy Blais continues to pay off.  He fought Nick Paul at the start of the third period and it was his wrist shot from the blue line that Goodrow deflected for the game winner.

You hate to see referees determine the result of a game, but they certainly did in this case.  Embellishment is the penalty that is most a result of a ref’s judgment.  In the case of Tim Stützle he appeared to embellish three penalties.  The first, a Morgan Barron trip, was a clear penalty.  The second, a K’Andre Miller hold was iffy. The third, a trip by Jacob Trouba was another penalty that he didn’t need to sell.   Stützle is not a rookie anymore, but after only one year, he doesn’t have the credentials and it makes the refs look bad.

The other turning point was when Matt Murray had to leave the game when he was kneed in the head by Chris Kreider on the first Ranger goal. Kreider was shoved into Murray, but the Senators’ goalie was clearly unable to continue and the Rangers made it count, scoring on the first shot that Anton Forsberg faced.

Over the first two periods, there were 69 shot attempts between the two teams, but only four were high danger chances.   In the third period, the Rangers had 23 shots attempts to 15 for Ottawa, but seven were high danger chances with none for the Senators.

The hope has to be that Kaapo Kakko will be able to play when he comes off Injured Reserve on Monday.  It will possibly mean that the marriage between Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad is over though it may remain until Ryan Strome returns. While the duo is amazing in overtime, at 5v5 it just doesn’t work.

There’s no doubt about it.  Artemi Panarin is off to a rocky start.  He was on ice for both Senators goals and still has not scored a goal and has only one assist in regulation.  His one goal came in 3v3 overtime and two of his three assists were on the power play.  The Rangers are still winning and Gerard Gallant isn’t ready to push any panic buttons, saying “He’s bringing it…he’s a point guy, he’s not going to stand in front of the net like Chris Kreider. He;s making his plays, he made the big play on the first goal. So, he’s playing his game, he’ll be fine.”

The Rangers go for five in a row on Monday at the Garden versus Calgary. They haven’t had a five-game winning streak since February 2020.

The Rangers haven’t won four in a row in October since they had a seven game winning streak in 2009.

Adam Fox continues to demonstrate why he is already one of the top blueliners in the NHL.  His dipsy doodle move to keep the puck in the offensive zone led to Kreider’s power play goal and it was his pass to partner Ryan Lindgren that made the game tying goal.  While his offense will get him attention, his work in the defensive zone is even better this season.

Adam Fox played 23:11, the most of any Ranger, but the least he has played in any game this season.

The Rangers were credited with a season high 45 hits, only one game after getting only 15 against Nashville (their season low). Ryan Reaves led the way with seven followed by Chris Kreider with six and Dryden Hunt with five.

The Rangers finally had a fighting major with Jacob Trouba tangling with Brady Tkachuk and they followed that up with another fight between Sammy Blais and Nick Paul.  Those were the first major penalties for the Rangers this season.  Seven teams in the NHL are yet to have a fight.

While the power play got off the schneid, they are still only 3-24, a 12.5% that is good for 28th in the NHL.

On the other hand, going four for four,  the penalty kill is showing a lot of improvement and is now 13 for 13 over the last four games and has climbed into 17th best overall at 81%.

Chris Kreider had a very active game, leading the team with fives shots. He also had six hits and scored on the power play.  He could have easily had a second goal early in the third period when he had an open net, but former Ranger Nick Holden was able to hold him long enough for Murray to make the save.

The Rangers won seven of 13 faceoffs in the first period, but then won only 11 of the next 32 draws.