J.T. Miller, Glenn Gawdin, and Dylan Garand stood out as the three biggest winners from the New York Rangers’ 5-1 statement victory over the last-place Vancouver Canucks on Friday night. This was an easy trap game to lose for the Rangers, and luckily, they did not fall into it. They are rolling at the perfect time, and this road trip out west is making this team look better and better with each passing game.
J.T. Miller
A growing trend around the National Hockey League is how former players are approaching their return to their former team. We just saw Connor Hellebuyck's situation against Winnipeg, and how he was "sat."
This time, it was J.T. Miller. It was a very ugly divorce between him and Vancouver, and the outcome became the 29th captain in Rangers history. He embraced those boos and turned in a really good performance.
No. 10 registered two assists, two shots on goal, and went 8-for-14 from the faceoff dot. He did not shy away from the aggression from the fans, and instead, used it as fuel.
Glenn Gawdin
What a story for Glenn Gawdin. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by St. Louis, he floated around the WHL before being promoted to the AHL with the Stockton Heat of Calgary, then the San Diego Gulls of Anaheim, and then the Ontario Reign of the Los Angeles Kings. Finally, he lands with the Rangers, works his way through Hartford, and makes the most of his opportunity in this game against Vancouver with a two-goal showing.
If you want to talk about perseverance and waiting for your shot, Gawdin completely took over this game in just 7:59 of ice time.
Dylan Garand
This kind of game is one that goaltenders hate to play the most. Time and time again, a good team plays a much worse one, and the underdog gets the upper hand on the goaltender and shocks the world.
Dylan Garand did not fall into that trap. He played this game perfectly, delivering a 27-save masterpiece against a solid push from the three-win Canucks. The goaltending tandem of Garand and Joonas Korpisalo is rock solid right now, and the Rangers are rolling with five wins over their last six games.
Add us as a preferred source on Google