Rangers one-sided win over Capitals 4-1

About the game

As the game started it was all about Ryan Reaves and Tom Wilson, ad nauseum.  The ESPN announcers were looking for some mischief and it never happened.  Instead, what we got was a fast paced first period with few whistles as the two teams went from offense to defense without any really good scoring opportunities.

The Capitals had more hits, shots and won more faceoffs, but it was the Rangers who got on the board first.  Mika Zibanejad converted on a perfect drop pass from Lafrenière for his 20th goal.

Zac Jones made the outlet pass to Zibanejad for the give-and-go with Lafrenière.   Zibanejad’s one-timer was recorded as 100 mph and Samsonov had no chance.

Ryan Strome took a needless tripping penalty as time expired in the first period, so the Rangers started the second on the penalty kill.   They did a nice job on the kill and were helped when Ovechkin was called for a hook halfway though the penalty.

The Caps had another power play opportunity when Chris Kreider was called for a high stick, but the Rangers held firm and the 1-0 score looked to extend into the third period.  That’s when Lafrenière scored on a pretty deflection of a Ryan Lindgren point shot with about a minute left in the period.

The goal came after the Rangers won the faceoff in the Capitals’ zone after an icing call. The Zibanejad held the puck in the attack zone, but Washington turned it over and Lindgren took the wrist shot that Lafrenière deflected.

The Blueshirts had to start the third period on the penalty kill as Strome took another tripping penalty as time expired.   They didn’t give the goal back and at 6:57 they padded the lead when Chris Kreider scored after another good shift by the Zibanejad line in the Caps zone.  Lafrenière again made a strong play keeping possession in the attack zone. He got the puck to Zibanejad who fed Fox for a point shot.  Samsonov made the save, but the rebound went right to Kreider who had the open net.

The fourth line scored about five minutes later on a play started when Ryan Reaves checked Ovechkin who gave up the puck, setting up a two-on-one for Kevin Rooney and Barclay Goodrow.  Rooney fed Goodrow who put the backhand under Samsonov’s legs.

The Caps pulled Samsonov with four minutes left when they had their fourth power play, but could get nothing going.  Ovechkin spoiled the shutout when Strome lost a defensive draw and Evgeny Kuznetsov set up a open Ovi for the easy redirect.

Here’s a five minute recap of the game.

The Rangers remain undefeated in regulation in February and will look forward to their road game Saturday versus the Penguins.

Notes on the game

With the win, combined with the Penguins loss, the Rangers leapfrogged Pittsburgh into second place in the Metropolitan Division. They now have a record of 33-13-5 and 71 points.  The last time they had 71 points in this few games was in 2011-12.   They are now a point ahead of Pittsburgh with two games in hand and six points ahead of Washington with two games in hand.

The team’s record at Madison Square Garden is an impressive 17-4-3, one of the best marks in the NHL.  They beat the best road team in the NHL in Washington.

The Rangers record against teams currently in the playoffs is 12-12-2.  Against non-playoff teams it’s an unbelievable 21-1-3.

The Rangers have now allowed only 12 goals in their last seven games.

The Rangers power play was shut out for only the third time in the last 13 games. Meanwhile, the penalty kill was perfect for the fourth straight game and have now killed ten penalties in a row.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 of 37 shots.  He is first in the NHL with a .940 save percentage, first with a 1.98 goals against average and fourth in the NHL with 25 wins,

Chris Kreider had not scored a goal in three games and with his 34th goal he moved into third place behind Auston Matthews (36) and Leon Draisaitl (35).  He still leads the league with 17 power play goals.

To Wilson’s long anticipated return to the Garden was a bust.  He played 15 ineffective minutes with a plus/minus of -2 and he didn’t register a shot on goal or a hit.

Meanwhile, Ryan Reaves had five hits, one assist and one shot on goal.  He lined up several times opposite Wilson who meekly avoided any chance of confrontation.

The only “fight” was between Conor Sheary and Ryan Lindgren who tussled late in the third period after some nasty play in front of the Rangers goal.

Patrik Nemeth missed the game with his wife in labor and Zac Jones played well in his stead, notching an assist on the first Ranger goal.   Also in the lineup was Morgan Barron who replaced an ill Filip Chytil.  Barron had a noticeable game with four shots and three hits.

The Rangers had a tribute to Emile Francis, not seen by the ESPN audience.<

/li>

Ryan Strome didn’t have a great game. He took penalties at the end of the first and second periods.  Both were unnecessary tripping penalties that could have been costly.  He had no shots on goal and was the only minus player on the Blueshirts.  He lost seven of 10 faceoffs, including the last one that led to the Ovechkin goal.

Adam Fox had one assist, his 42nd of the season, tops among NHL defensemen. His 49 points is fourth overall among blueliners.

My 3 Rangers stars

Igor Shesterkin

should have had a shutout, losing it to an Alex Ovechkin shot with a minute left. While he didn’t have to stand on his head for the win, he did make a few outstanding saves and improved all of his league leading statistics.

The official three stars

1. Alexis Lafreniere
2. Igor Shesterkin
3. Mika Zibanejad

What’s next

The Rangers travel to Pittsburgh for their first meeting of the season with the Penguins on Saturday afternoon.  The game will be televised nationally on ABC with gametime set for 3pm.

It is the first game of a back-to-back set of games as they return Sunday to play the Vancouver Canucks.   The Rangers have passed Pittsburgh in the standings into second place so after this game, the Blueshirts will either be back in third place or three games ahead of the Penguins with a firmer grasp on second place.  If the Rangers lose in overtime, they will be in a virtual tie with the Penguins.

It’s going to be a great weekend of hockey.