In a game where the New York Rangers were heavy favorites in the second half of the back-to-back against one of the bottom feeders of the NHL, the Blueshirts did not disappoint. For a team that has had authentic struggles with consistency, this game was a breath of fresh air. It felt a lot more like last year’s Rangers. Goaltending was huge in the first period to keep the Rangers in this game but it felt like they were going to win it the entire time.
It felt pretty straightforward after Goodrow scored with just under 5 minutes remaining in the second. With the Coyotes not being a particularly dangerous team offensively, there was a lot of confidence in the reigning Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin was always going to have the ability to shut the door and the faith placed in the Russian shot-stopper was not misplaced as he closed the door on the Desert Dogs.
Ryan Carpenter had his first goal as a New York Ranger in this one and it happened to be the goal that put the game out of reach. While it wasn’t a goal you’re likely to remember at the end of the year, it was a big goal for the Rangers to get two points off of a team that they should have been beating. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. Consistency is still an issue but there was a positive result at the end of it.
This moves the Rangers into the top wild-card spot in the East. They’re still not in a great place with the chasing pack behind having games in hand and being able to push even more pressure onto the Blueshirts, there’s time yet. New York doesn’t have to have a playoff place cemented by Christmas, they just need to keep hanging around the conversation until the trade deadline or near enough.
Next for the Rangers is a big trip west. Their next game will be at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. With the Rangers visiting the newest addition to the NHL, there will be a craving to get a long road trip underway with a good win against a team that is surpassing expectations early. For the Rangers, this could be a very big game and the Kraken will be looking to make a statement with a victory.