A big win for the New York Rangers, the best team in the NHL

The New York Rangers made another statement with their 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.  They shut down the two top offensive players in the NHL, won the special teams battle, got better goaltending and scored timely goals.  And they did it with their best player out and with their back up goalie in net.   Is there any wonder why they sit atop the NHL with 48 points?  Sure, other teams have games in hand, but there’s no denying the numbers.

As Coach Gerald  Gallant said, “It’s about 20 guys playing and 20 guys showed up and played hard.  It was huge for our group. Played a good game, got the lead again and kept going.”

The Rangers came into this weekend after a bad loss to Florida, facing three of the top teams in the NHL.  Losing four of five, they had their first hiccup of the season and it could have snowballed.  But, the team withstood the loss of some key players to COVID, a blown third period lead on New Year’s Eve and back-to-back games to end up with three hard fought wins.

In some ways, the loss of key personnel has actually helped the team.  Alexis Lafrenière found himself moving from playing six minutes on the third line to top minutes on the second line. The young Ranger defensemen had to step up and the Rangers got nothing but good results from K’Andre Miller, Libor Hajek, Zac Jones and Nils Lundkvist.

It’s been a huge boost in confidence for the young players and gives Coach Gerard Gallant the knowledge that they can play key roles when needed.  He spoke specifically about Lafrenière after the game. “Laffy’s played great.  We’ve always talked about….When he’s playing top minutes and getting on the ice a lot he makes a big difference. He’s confident and he feels good about himself…he’s responded well with the ice time.”

Georgiev played really well and proved that he deserved the start in this game.  It would have been easy for Gallant to go with Shesterkin again, but now beyond any doubt, Georgiev is more than just a back-up.   As Gallant said, ” He’s played great.  It’s what I was told when I got the job. ..we’ve got two great goalies and that’s what I’m seeing. ”

The Rangers now have two days off before they head west for a five-game road trip.  The first three games are at Vegas, Anaheim and Los Angeles and the first two of those Pacific Division teams are in the playoffs and the Kings are one point out of the wild card.  They finish the trip against Metropolitan Division rival, the Flyers.  They’ve done well on the road and if they can keep this level of play up, it bodes well for the rest of the season.

The last two games have felt different.  After blowing third period leads in three straight games, it feels like the Rangers have figured out how to win. That, combined with the determination to beat some of the elite teams in the league despite adversity, has given this squad a different personality.