A LIGHTNING STRIKE: RANGERS TOP BOLTS IN SEASON OPENER

Season-openers are nothing more than first impressions, as each team begins anew with a record of 0-0-0. However, on Tuesday night, the Broadway Blueshirts put forth a “Rangertastic” burlesque, treated a wound that had been nagging for 122 days, and bolt-busted past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 in front of a strident 18,006 at Madison Square Garden, who relished the magic reminiscent of last spring’s run to the Eastern Conference final.

We’re still a treacherous 81 plus games and eight months away from a return there, and the team won’t fully rectify their unfinished business until then, but in the here and now, tonight’s maiden tilt of the 2022-23 season serves as the blueprint for the rest of them.

As newly-minted captain, Jacob Trouba said postgame, “If we play all 82 like that, we’ll be in good shape”. While they surely won’t win them all, and there are bound to be some excusable clunkers, the Rangers showed the hockey world on national television Tuesday last year wasn’t a one-hit wonder; it was the just beginning of more “Ranger things” to come.

Here are the takeaways from tonight’s win as I write my first victory piece for you, wonderful readers.

NEXT MAN UP: 

We’ve talked aplenty about him, from the clean slate Lucas Standel articulated to the potentially unfair disdain from the fanbase explained by the beloved Steve Paulus.

But two shifts into the season, Vitali Kravtsov absorbed a hit from Victor Headman near the boards and didn’t return to the contest with what the team is temporarily calling an “Upper-body injury.” It bumped up the aspiring Jimmy Vesey, the darling of the preseason and recipient of a one-year $750K contract two days ago, to the third line with Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow.

Alexis Lafrenière was the heir to his injured teammate’s slot on the right side atop the second unit with Artemi Panarin and trendsetting Blueshirt Vincent Trocheck. The shakeup on the second power-play unit featured Zac Jones, Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Alexi. While the severity of the Russian’s injury is unclear, the organization will look to in-house candidates such as Dryden Hunt, who was a healthy scratch, or Sammy Blais(Injured Reserve) to replace him if needed.

THE PK SPECIAL:

When a team takes six penalties in a contest, you wouldn’t expect to be the one emerging victorious. However, the Rangers’ penalty kill went 5/6, with the lone blemish being when they went two men down in the second period after infractions by K’Andre Miller and Barclay Goodrow, leading to a rifle by Steven Stamkos for Tampa’s first goal of the season.

New York landed the first blow minutes earlier when Mika Zibanejad roofed a backhand over Andrei Vasilevskiy for a shorthanded tally eliciting the message the top-ranked penalty kill from last season had returned.

When the Blueshirts had the man advantage, NO93 was again at the center of attention, blasting a one-timer from Pannarin into the cage for a 2-1 Ranger lead at 5:11 of the last stanza delighting the MSG faithful. Whether it was scoring goals, clearing pucks, or blocking shots, the team portrayed a purposeful defensive outlook, contrary to last season when Igor Shesterkin carried the load.

WINNING FACEOFFS WITHIN THE FACEOFF:

Last season, the struggles at the dot(48.1%) were larvated by the brilliance of Shesterkin, who pitched a 26-save evening, with a few that even had the crowd bellowing his first name.
But led by a virtuoso in flashy offseason signing Vincent Trocheck, the Rangers won 63.6% of the draws (30-17), notably a combined 19 won by Trocheck(10) and Zibanejad(9).

The deadly centers were teammates for the first time following their hotly contested battles in last year’s second-round playoff series when Vincent was a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. They also dominated puck possession, most notably Kaapo Kappo, who avenged his infamous healthy scratch from game six by drawing three Tampa penalties with his vastly improved puck-keeping skills.

It was a clinical display, as the team seemed ready to embrace the lofty expectations rather than shy away from them. They peppered the opposing net with 39 shots on goal, dictated play with 19 takeaways, and outhit the Bolts 24-19, paramount the drill new Ranger Ryan Carpenter delivered, which promptly led to the Barclay Goodrow’s insurance goal with 9:00 minutes remaining in the third, increasing the advantage to 3-1.

IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT:

Of the 23 that took the ice opening night, 16 were incumbents, enlisting the feel the Rangers were running it back rather than switching things up, expected for a team that fell two wins shy of the Stanley Cup final.

In my letter to all of you, I touched upon how the players embodied the mantra the social media team set before them, and it doesn’t appear to be any different this year. The “No quit in New York” t-shirts returned and so did the soundtrack “We are the people” by Martin Garrix, which accompanied the team as they saluted their sticks toward the fans on what we all hope is the first of many victorious nights at the Garden.

UP NEXT:

The Rangers will serve as the guest to the home-opening proceedings of the Minnesota Wild(10/13, 8:00PMET).