On Monday night, the New York Rangers got back on track with a 4-1 victory over fellow original six member, the Detroit Red Wings. This could go down as a monumental win on the year, implying that this team is as resilient as last year.
Now that the final whistle has blown, and we all await the second half of this home-and-home series over in Motown, what are three takeaways from this one.
1. Rangers / Shesterkin Bounce Back
After that wild and exciting 6-5 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club, the Rangers needed to settle back into drama-free hockey. This 4-1 victory was exactly that, and was exactly needed for key members of this team.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who allowed six goals on two separate occasions last season, endured that fate against the league's newest branded team. He was in desperate need to shake off that bad game and re-claim his throne as "The Prince" of New York. The 28-year-old did just that against a solid Detroit squad, featuring ex-teammate Patrick Kane.
Overall, the entire Rangers team rallied to get this win. It was a complete team effort, and many of the mistakes made from the game prior were corrected and improved. It should not be a surprise if this generates a bit of a win-streak from this team.
2. Panarin Stays Hot
After securing the first star of the week for the first week of the regular season, left-winger Artemi Panarin continued his hot streak into Madison Square Garden. With three more assists on the year, he leads the Rangers with two goals and five assists for seven points. Through the first three games of the season, he is off to one of the best starts of his career for a season.
One of the big question marks was not whether Panarin was going to be as effective as he was a season ago, but if he could maintain that same point production on a nightly basis, and shatter his milestones. If he can continue this hot streak going, there is no doubt that he will be a running candidate for many of the big-name awards at the end of the season.
3. Hello, Mika Zibanejad
Finally, center Mika Zibanejad has entered the point column and entered our lives as Rangers fans this season. Many have scrutinized his play through the first two games of the year, as being very lackluster for the first-line center.
Against Detroit, he registered a goal and two assists for his first three points on the season. It was nice to see #93 finally able to break through and end the early point-less drought, and hopefully, it continues on throughout the rest of the season.