Three Keys To Victory: Utah vs. Rangers
The Rangers are set to take on the Utah HC in their home opener at Madison Square Garden.
The New York Rangers are set to open up Madison Square Garden tonight against the newly formed Utah Hockey Club. New York is coming off a win in which they took home a 6-0 win against the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Chris Kreider led the way with two goals, one of which was shorthanded. Igor Shesterkin slammed the door shut on the Penguins with 31 saves in the shutout win. The Rangers will look to improve upon their fast start with a win tonight. Here are the three keys to improving to 2-0.
Dominate The Faceoff Circle
The Rangers were very impressive in their inaugural game, posting a staggering 52.5% in the faceoff circle. They will do well to go into their first matchup with Utah with the intention of replicating that performance. This performance was in character for the Rangers as they finished 7th in the NHL last season in the faceoff category. Utah is coming out of their previous game in which they performed just as well and won 52.2% of their faceoffs. If the Rangers can get the edge in the circle, then they will be able to control the flow of the game at home.
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Capitalize On the Powerplay
The Blueshirts failed to score on the two chances that they had on the odd-man advantage during their win against the Penguins. Utah is coming off a game in which they killed five of the six penalty kills that they were tasked with. While we are only looking at both teams going into game two of 82, it will be very imperative for the Rangers to get the powerplay going early to build confidence.
Keep Feedin Kreider
Rangers veteran Chris Kreider looked phenomenal in the opening game of the season, as he logged two goals. After seeing that stellar performance, one cannot help but reminisce back to 2021 when Kreider scored 52 goals. Kreider also fired off five shots in his two-goal performance and the Broadway faithful can only hope that he will come out with the same level of aggressiveness tonight. If the same level of performance is had by the veteran forward, not only will he have a good night, but it will open the gate for other Rangers personnel to get going as well.