A big 4-1 win for the Rangers and the fourth line

Notes on the game

The Rangers upped their record to 12-4-3  for 27 points.  That’s fifth best in the NHL and their seven road wins are second to the Carolina Hurricanes.  Their four regulation losses were all to teams ahead of them in the standings. They have yet to lose in regulation to team with a worse record after 19 games.

The Rangers  have won four of five games against Metropolitan Division teams and have gotten 20 of a possible 24 points from teams in the Eastern Conference.

If you believe that teams in playoff position on Thanksgiving will ultimately make it, this is it.  The Rangers are a lock.   In the last six seasons with an 82-game schedule, 77% of teams (74 of 96) in playoff position on the holiday made the postseason.

Kevin Rooney scored two goals in a game for the first time in his career.  With five goals, he is second on the team.

Ryan Reaves  had two assists for the first time in his career.  It was also the third two-point game of his career. He scored twice against Calgary in 2013 and had a goal and an assist against the Flyers in 2018.  He also led the team with six hits.

With an assist, Kappo Kakko extended his point scoring streak to five games, a career high.  Ryan Strome also extended his point scoring streak to seven games, third longest of his career.

Chris Kreider is on pace to score 65 goals this season.  His previous career high was 28 goals in a season.   To equal that he needs to score only 13 goals in his last 63 games.

Igor Shesterkin finally beat the Islanders, on his sixth try.  He now has a record of 1-4-1 against them.

The Rangers held the Islanders to only 21 shots including only five in the third period. It was the second time that the Blueshirts kept a team from hitting double figures in shots in all three periods.

With a perfect penalty kill on six penalties, it was the second time that the Rangers have done that. They kill all six penalties in Vancouver on November 2.  They took six penalties on opening night, but allowed three goals.

Adam Fox led all Rangers in ice time with 22:43 and with his assist on the first goal, he took over lead in the defensemen scoring race with 19 points.  He also took over the NHL lead in assists by a defenseman with 15.

This was the first game with rejiggered lines.  Kaapo Kakko skated with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider and picked up an assist.   Dryden Hunt played with Panarin and Strome. Perhaps the best result of all of these moves was Barclay Goodrow finding a home on the fourth line.  After the game Gallant blamed all of the special teams play for not getting Hunt or Kakko enough ice time with their new linemates.

Nils Lundkvist also returned to the lineup and had a strong game, playing almost 17 minutes including two minutes on the power play.

It remains to be seen if the NHL will look at the high hit by J.G. Pageau on Ryan Lindgren. Gallant was livid after he saw the replay and had several agitated exchanges with the referees.

Knowing the NHL Department of “Player Safety”, don’t hold your breath.