Rangers blowout the Blackhawks, earn their 7th straight win

The New York Rangers won 7-1 as the Rangers blowout the Chicago Blackhawks to earn their 7th straight win. All seven goals by the Rangers were scored by different players. The Blackhawks’ struggles continue as they lose another game, while the Rangers push passed the Pittsburgh Penguins for third in the Metro. Here is how the Rangers owned the Blackhawks.

Slow Start, but a Great First Period Finish

At first, the New York started out slow, but got their game on and didn’t let up. Adam Fox (25) intercepted the puck, causing a turnover. He passed it to Alexis Lafreniere (10), who then passed it to Filip Chytil (18). Chytil shot it out of mid-air, on the fly to score a beautiful goal.

Artemi Panarin made it 2-0, scoring his eighth goal of the season after Vincent Trocheck (14) entered the zone. He passed it to Fox (26) who found Panarin, whipping it passed Arvid Soderblom.

The Blueshirts weren’t done as Kaapo Kakko (8) made it 3-0 on an excellent shot. Chytil (9) and Lafreniere (11) also assisted in the play.

After seeing the score, it looked like complete domination from the Rangers, but that wasn’t the case. The Rangers were outshot by the Blackhawks. Clearly, this didn’t bring the Rangers down as they took a big lead entering the second period.

Blackhawks Finally Score, while Jarred Tinordi gets Injured

At 1:33 into the second period, the Blackhawks made it 3-1. Philipp Kurashev ended up with his fourth goal of the season after New York gave up the puck in the neutral zone. Kurashev got to the puck, entered the Rangers’ zone, and scored. The puck ended up going off of Jacob Trouba’s stick and in, giving Kurashev credit for the goal.

The Blackhawks put themselves back into the game with a goal, but not without injury. As the puck was in the Rangers’ offensive zone, Sammy Blais blasted a shot that hit Tinordi right in the face, where he immediately went off the ice and into the locker room. Blood was clearly shown dripping from his face as he made his way off the ice.

This was Tinordi’s first game without a face shield after receiving multiple stitches, due to a skate to his jaw against the Winnipeg Jets on December 9. Prior to December 9, he missed the previous five games from a hip injury.

The Rangers answered later in the period with a goal by Trouba (2). Zibanejad (21) entered the offensive zone, faked the shot, and sent a drop pass to Trouba. Panarin (31) also assisted in the play.

Trocheck (11) scored a PPG late in the second to make it 5-1 Rangers. It was deflected off of Trocheck’s stick after a pass from Fox (27). Zibanejad (22) also assisted on the goal.

Will the Rangers keep this momentum going into the third period? Absolutely!

No Return For Chytil or Tinordi

After Chytil got hit early in the second period, he hasn’t returned. Neither has Tinordi. We can only hope that both are alright and will be back for their next games.

As for the rest of the game, Vitali Kravtsov (2) scored to make it 6-1 for New York. It was a beautiful feed from Panarin (32), leading to a great shot by Kravtsov. Ryan Lindgren (10) also assisted in the play.

Jonny Brodzinski got his first goal of the season, adding to the Blueshirts’ lead at 13:37 in the third. There was a triple deflection on the shot by Braden Schneider (4) as the puck went off Jason Dickinson’s stick, then Connor Murphy’s stick, and finally, off of Brodzinski. Kakko (6) also earned an assist on the play.

The Rangers did not let up on a team that only has 18 points, last in the league. It is good to see New York not blow a lead, especially against struggling teams.

What’s Next for the Rangers?

New York plays the Penguins Tuesday, December 20 at 7:00 PM ET. The Blueshirts won their last three regular-season games against them and also beat them 4-3 in OT in Game 7 in the first round of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers look to continue their win streak to seven, as well as prove who is a better team in the Metro Division. Who will make the biggest impact in the game? Let me know your thoughts.