It’s the Panarin-Copp show as the Rangers beat Isles 6-3

Any issues with the New York Rangers not being ready to play in the first period were not evident in this game. They came out flying led by the trio of Artemi Panarin, Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome and Copp scored three goals in the first period en route to an easy 6-3 win.

The Rangers remained tied for first place with the Hurricanes who also won, coming from behind against Winnipeg.  It was a night of outstanding individual efforts as the team won its fourth in a row and seventh in the last eight.  The one definite is that the Rangers clinched second place with the win so they definitely have home ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Rangers shutout streak ended at just over 200 minutes and they dropped out of first place in team defense, but considering the game and the competition, they have to be satisfied with the win.

Gerard Gallant was pleased with the overall effort.  “We got off to a great start obviously..I thought we played real well. Disappointed the shutout streak broke, but it was gonna happen sooner or later.  Overall the guys played real well, played a real good solid game.  It’s two big points.”

Gallant also took note of Panarin, noting “He’s a helluva a player.  He doesn’t play the same way as everyone else, but that’s what makes him special.”  Panarin had said that he had changed his style of play and is getting results.

Gallant spoke about Panarin’s unique ability. “He doesn’t play a perfect D-zone coverage, he doesn’t backcheck as hard as some guys. Cause he’s reading plays…that’s what he does and that’s hwy he gets 100 points a year.  He makes those special plays.”

He was especially pleased by how Panarin battled in this game. “I thought tonight they went after him a little bit and he just  bounced off them and kept making his plays.  Over the last four games, he comes back, he does a good job in the D. He’s -zone,  not trying to turn over pucks, he’s getting low and he’s trying to make his plays.  For the most part he’s done that. ”

One note of concern was that Andrew Copp went to the locker room with just over five minutes left in the game.  He was favoring his left foot when he left the ice, but there was no clear play that would have cause an injury.  He had been battling on the boards for the puck and might have twisted an ankle or been slashed by Casey Cizikas.

The team announced he had a lower body injury, but no one asked Gallant about it (not that he would have had an answer).

Gallant made a good point, talking about the fact that the Rangers have been able to play well against the good teams and the teams playing out the string.  They’ve kept their focus and have, if anything, actually improved over the last few weeks.

As much as the team would like to finish in first place, staying healthy is a bigger priority for the playoffs. This was their 25th road win of the season, one fewer than the 26 wins at home.  This team can win anywhere.

About the game

The Rangers came out flying and the Strome-Panarin-Copp line was simply dominant.   Copp scored three times with Panarin assisting on all three goals. The first goal came at 3:43 on a great pass from Panarin streaking down the left wing. He found Copp, wide open trailing the play.

The second goal at 7:48 came after a series of passes in the Islanders zone. Strome and Panarin both had shooting opportunities, but Panarin found Copp open on Semyon Varlamov’s left and he scored.

The last goal for Copp came at 18:13.  Panarin started the play feeding Copp for a give-and-go with Ryan Strome.

The first period was all Rangers, though they had only a 9-8 shots advantage.   The Isles made it a game when Brock Nelson scored just 37 seconds into the second period. The Islanders had a slight advantage in play for most of the period, until Kyle Palmieri was called for interfering with Ryan Lindgren.  That’s when Chris Kreider went to work, scoring his 51st goal and his first in four games at 17:15, just 25 seconds into the power play.

With just 53 seconds left in the period, Artemi Panarin notched his fourth assist of the game, feeding Ryan Strome for a wrist shot from the slot that beat Varlamov.

The second period ended with the score 5-1 in favor of the Rangers and it was really over.

The third period didn’t feature a whole lot of defense and the Isles scored twice including once on the power play.  Brock Nelson added his second goal of the night at 2:06 to pull the Isles within 5-2, but the Rangers answered back at 12:53 when Ryan Reaves scored on a three-on-one break, receiving the pass from Alexis Lafrenière.

Josh Bailey scored 29 seconds later to make the score 6-3, but at that point the game was really over.

Here’s a video recap of the game.

Notes on the game

• The Rangers improved their record to 51-21-6 for 108 points.  The 51 wins are the third most by any Rangers team and they are two behind the franchise record of 53 wins.  Only five Rangers teams have finished with more points than 108.
• This was their 25th road win, the most since the 2016-17 team won 27 games on the road.
• If the Rangers can beat Washington in the season finale, it will mean that they will finish with a losing record this season against only the Carolina Hurricanes.  They improved their record to 15-8-1 against the Met Division.
• The Rangers have lost only four games in regulation in their last 20, going 15-4-1.
• The Rangers shutout streak ended at 200 minutes, 43 seconds when Brock Nelson scored early in the second period. They had ten straight shutout period.
• The Rangers dropped into second place on team defense, allowing 2.45 goals per game.  Carolina leads with 2.44.
• The power play scored on the only opportunity, their third straight game with a PP goal. They are 3-7 in those games.   They have moved back up to third overall at 26.1%.
• The penalty kill finally allowed a goal, the first in 10 games. They had stopped 20 straight power plays before Brock Nelson scored in the third period.  They are ninth overall at 81.8%.
• Andrew Copp scored the second hat trick of his career and now has eight goals and 18 points in 15 games in New York. It was a natural hat trick.
• This was the third time in franchise history that a Ranger has scored a hat trick in the first period.  Kelly Kisio did it in December 1986 against the Devil.  Don Raleigh also had a natural hat trick in the first period in a 7-4 loss to the Black Hawks in February 1948.  That was the first time a Ranger scored four goals in a game as Raleigh had all four Blueshirts goals.
• Natural hat tricks are not as rare as you may think. Mika Zibanejad had two last season and Chris Kreider had one as well.  Copp’s was the seventh natural hat trick by a Ranger since the 2004-05 lockout.
• Artemi Panarin’s four assists matched his season high when he had four against the Dallas Stars last month. This was the fifith time he has had four or more assists in a game in his career, with his career high of five when he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• Panarin now has 74 assists on the season, the  most ever by a Ranger forward, surpassing Mark Messier who had 72 assists in 1991-92.  He surpassed his career high of 95 points and now has 96, only four shy of the 100 mark.  He is second in the NHL in assists behind Jonathan Huberdeau who has 83.  He also moved up to eighth overall in scoring.
• Adam Fox reached the 70 point mark with three assists and now is fourth among NHL blueliners with 72 points. He is second in assists to Roman Josi who has 69 compared to Fox with 61.  Only four Rangers defensemen have had more than Fox’s 72 points (Leetch, Park, Zubov, Ruotsalainen).
• Alexandar Georgiev played a fine game, winning his seventh in a row. He made 26 saves on 29 Islander shot and made some outstanding stops, especially in the second period.  He is now 14-9-2 on the season.
• Ryan Strome finally reached the 20 goal mark in his ninth season.
• Chris Kreider scored his first goal and his first power play goal in five games.  He now has 51 goals on the season and moved out of a tie for third most with Vic Hadfield.  He is one behind Adam Graves who had 52 and three behind Jaromir Jagr’s 54 goals.  He also moved into sole possession of fifth overall with 84 power play goals in his career.