The New York Rangers dropped a close 1-0 road decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins in what could have been a preview of the first round of the playoffs. If these two teams meet in the first round, it promises to be a doozy.
While the loss exposed the Rangersâ flaws, they werenât anything we havenât seen before. They couldnât score an even strength goal, relying on a power play that failed them. Itâs nothing new, they live and die with their special teams. In this game, they ran into Tristan Jarry who was excellent especially in the first period when the Rangers had their best scoring chances.
Igor Shesterkin proved why he is the best goalie in the NHL. At the same time, they played shutdown defense allowing only one goal for the third straight game. Opponents have scored 10 goals in the last seven games, only seven at even strength. Considering the youth of the Rangersâ defense, itâs been a pretty amazing run.
There were numerous scrums as the two teams came together repeatedly and the game had a physical intensity that had a playoff feel.
Gerard Gallant admitted that it felt like a playoff game. âFor sure, it definitely did. The longer the game went 0-0 it felt like a playoff battle.â  He loved the Rangersâ start. âI was really excited with the first period. I think we had great jump. We came in here and had a great first. We still played well the second and third , but I thought the first was really good.â
Barclay Goodrow said much the same, âItâs the closest to playoff-like physicality in a game weâve hadâŚitâs gonna be huge games coming down the stretch.â
If this was indeed a playoff preview, the Rangers are ready. Defense wins playoff games and the Rangersâ defense, anchored by Shesterkin, is one of the best in the NHL. They are allowing only 2.44 goals per game, third fewest in the league.
Gallant said it best. âIt was a good hockey game. Two good teams going at itâŚOne goal decided it. Both teams played hard and both teams wanted to win.â
Add us as a preferred source on Google