There’s so much to unpack from this Rangers’ win over the Anaheim Ducks. A 10-goal game will spark a lot of conversations, but the takeaways from this game and how those 10 games came about in those different ways. This game was insane for a lot of different reasons, and while we will dive into those, I think there is an obvious place to start.
This was Ryan Strome‘s return to New York and he was honored with a tribute on the big board at Madison Square Garden. His return to New York was marked with a lot of talk about his new team in Southern California. The big takeaway for me was Strome comparing the Rangers during the rebuild to what the Ducks are right now, and that is a good inditement of what the Ducks are right now.
As for the things that happened on the ice, I think we first have to look at the Rangers’ powerplay. Going 3-for-4 tonight and turning the tides of this game was big. If the Rangers’ powerplay can continue to be that aggressive and continue to help the Rangers’ offense chase opposing netminders as they did in this one, New York’s powerplay tonight was one of the major differences.
Igor also did not have to be Igor. Igor Shesterkin is the reigning Vezina winner and he is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, but this was a rather poor showing from the Rangers’ beloved Russian netminder. For most of last season, the narrative was that Shesterkin dragged this team kicking and screaming to wins, and he undoubtedly stole games for New York. But this was not a performance that proved that.
Artemi Panarin now leads the entire NHL in points with ten after four games. Funny enough, his closest competition is currently Mika Zibanejad with eight points. It has always been clear that the New York Rangers are going to have to rely on their high-end talent if they are going to be able to contend for the Stanley Cup when May and June roll around and this provides a lot of confidence for those of us that are making that argument.
New York moved to 3-1-0 on the year and their six points are good enough for second place in the Metropolitan early in the year. They are behind the Carolina Hurricanes early because the Hurricanes are 3-0-0 so they are ahead on points percentage. This is going to be a battle between the two organizations that will likely run all season long, and with the quality of the two teams, it’ll be a good fight to watch.