New York Rangers Win First Leg of a Home-And-Home With the Detroit Red Wings
In the first leg of this home-and-home with the Detroit Red Wings, the Rangers took two points for their first home win of the season. A 4-1 win saw Igor Shesterkin make 31 saves on 32 shots as the Russian backstop showed us all why he's asking for as much money as he is. A fantastic performance from the Blueshirts netminder allowed the team to move to 2-0-1 on the young year.
New York would break the ice in the first period to open the scoring. Twelve minutes in, a good shift from the top line would see Zac Jones get the puck to Artemi Panarin, who carried it into the offensive zone. Panarin dashes past Justin Holl using a fake shot to maneuver the puck to Alexis Lafreniere. Lafreniere's shot beats Alex Lyon through the five holes, giving the Quebecois winger his first lead of the night. It's a great start to the game for the Blueshirts.
Just as the Rangers thought they were going to the first intermission up 1-0, a late dagger would strip them of the lead. Patrick Kane would find a sharp passing lane to Justin Holl, who can drive forward and circle the net. He finds a passing lane out in front of Dylan Larkin, and with a wide-open shot and Shesterkin committed to a potential wrap-around, there is no desperation save from the Russian. It's 1-1 at the conclusion of the first period.
With three minutes to go in the second period, the powerplay would strike to retake the lead. Off the faceoff win, the Rangers would get the puck back to the point for Adam Fox. Fox got it off to Panarin, who found a seam pass to Mika Zibanejad. Zibanejad, with a shot-pass to the front of the net, was deflected out in front by Chris Kreider from his office, and he continues to close the gap to Jean Ratelle in the all-time Rangers scoring list.
New York would extend the lead five minutes into the third period. An offensive zone faceoff would see Mika Zibanejad win the faceoff back gently, not far enough to get it to the point, but far enough for Rielly Smith to jump onto the loose puck. He's able to fire the puck on net past Alex Lyon's glove to record his first goal as a New York Ranger. It put some daylight between these two teams.
In the final minutes, the fans urged the players to get the puck back to Igor with the Red Wings net empty. However, the Blueshirts didn't give us the fun we wanted. They worked it forward for Mika Zibanejad to put it home for his first of the season, capping a three-point night for the Swedish center. A strong performance from the Zibanejad line caps a good win in the first leg of this home and home.